ROME, Ga., April 26, 2023 – When Austin Sisk was discharged from the Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Intensive Care Unit (ICU), his parents cried.
For Andrea and Justin Sisk, leaving the ICU after three weeks was like leaving their family.
In an update to friends and loved ones, Andrea shared a picture of a quilt given to her by the ICU team before Austin was transferred to another facility. The fabric featured cardinals – her favorite bird – against a Christmas green background and was accompanied by a handwritten card featuring a verse from scripture and the following message:
“Thank you for allowing us to care for your family. You are in our thoughts and prayers, and we hope that you know you are loved and appreciated. Get well soon Austin! FMC ICU."
The signature was preceded by a small heart drawn in ink, and the words “loved" and “appreciated" were underlined.
Andrea said her family had built relationships in the ICU as they stood watch over their son and interacted with staff members who worked with Austin and kept them informed.
“That hospital will always hold a special place in our hearts moving forward," she wrote.
Austin was critically injured October 14, 2022, just five months after he had graduated high school. His truck was struck broadside on the driver's side. While Austin suffered no broken bones, he sustained four tears in his brain, a consequence of the impact and of the Marfan's Syndrome with which he was born.
Austin was comatose and on a ventilator for much of his time at Atrium Health Floyd, and his prognosis was not good. There was a 5% chance he would emerge from his coma with no lasting effects, a 45% chance that he would “wake up" with permanent injury and a 50% chance that he would remain comatose for the rest of his life.
The Sisks said those early, difficult days were made bearable by three ICU nurses: Stephen Hopkins, Matt King and Joey Tarleton. Those three caregivers were Austin's nurses when he first arrived in the ICU. They made the Sisks feel so comfortable with their son's care, that the Sisks requested to always have either Stephen, Matt or Joey always care for their son.
Those nurses often switched schedules with other ICU nurses to ensure Justin and Andrea were at ease about Austin's care. As a result, the nurses and the Sisks have become good friends.
Those relationships, born from expert care at an extremely critical time, were difference makers, Justin said.
Austin's journey has been a series of seemingly “just in time" miracles. After receiving care at Floyd, Austin was moved to a long-term rehab facility in Chattanooga. When he needed to show signs of improvement for him to move to the next level of care, he began to emerge from his coma eight weeks after his wreck, changing the course of his medical treatment.
While in Chattanooga, he needed to show more signs of improvement to be eligible for the Disorders of Consciousness program at the Shepherd Center. With less than two weeks before the improvement deadline, Austin began speaking. Austin has been a patient at the Shepherd Center since Jan. 9, and he is expected to be released on April 28.
That will be a day of celebration, Justin said, and one of the first things they hope to do is to visit the ICU at Floyd to thank Austin's caregivers for their expertise, compassion and friendship.
“You never want to be in the ICU," he said, “but if you have to be there, Floyd is the place to be."