Paul Ausman and Raquel Hoepner-Ausman suffered traumatic brain injuries 16 days apart in April 2017. Two-and-a-half years later, both Paul and Raquel are on the comeback trail.
Paul Ausman was never shy about throwing a curveball during his days as a professional baseball pitcher.
But Ausman and his family have seen more curveballs in recent years than many families see in a lifetime.
After both Paul and his wife suffered significant brain ailments 16 days apart in April 2017, theyve continued battling and two-and-a-half years later they and their family are on the comeback trail.
While their road to recovery is far from over, they move into Thanksgiving improving every day with plenty to be thankful for.
Raquel and Paul's injuries came when their son Andrew (center) was a senior at McDonell. Andrew is now a junior at UW-Eau Claire.
Sixteen days
Raquel Hoepner-Ausman worked at Macys in Oakwood Mall for 26 years until the store closed in March 2017. A month later she collapsed after suffering a brain aneurysm in her familys home in Chippewa Falls and was taken to HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire before being airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A little more than two weeks later, Paul was taken to the emergency room at HSHS St. Josephs Hospital in Chippewa Falls being before taken to Regions and diagnosed with having a brain tumor the size of a golf ball.
Both Paul and Raquel faced grueling recovery roads as their daughter Nikki lived in the Minneapolis with her family and a full-time job, and their younger son Andrew was finishing his senior year at McDonell.
A day after being admitted into Regions, Paul had a brain biopsy and was diagnosed with Lymphoma of the brain, and on May 4, 2017, had surgery for an enlarged lymph node.
Pauls vocal cord was accidentally nicked during the procedure and he lost his voice and could barely talk. The beginning of the same month, Raquel was transferred to a long-term care hospital in St. Paul and started to relearn to speak, eat and respond to commands.
She was later moved to a nursing home in Bloomer before needing brain surgery less than a year later to repair a blood vessel in her brain and had to start the process of relearning to eat, speak and respond to commands all over again.
Paul was approved for stem cell therapy and underwent his first attempt at a stem cell transplant on Sept. 28, 2017, in Rochester, Minn.
However, less than a month later, Paul was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer in both eyes, putting the stem cell transplant on hold while multiple surgeries were performed in both eyes to attempt to remove cancer cells. Follow-up chemotherapy injections into his eyes were performed until the start of the stem cell procedure, which he was able to restart in February 2018.
Paul was discharged from the stem cell transplant hospital on March 27, 2018, one day before Raquel had her brain surgery.
Raquel moved to the Rutledge home in Chippewa Falls in early June, across the street from the Ausman home, where she currently resides and rehabilitates.
Paul continued to receive chemotherapy shots in his eyes to keep the lymphoma in remission and recently has moved to a daily pill. Paul still makes monthly trips to Rochester as his body rebuilds its immune system.
B.A.T.
Paul graduated from Eau Claire Regis High School and was drafted in the 14th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He played in the minor leagues for five seasons with the Brewers and Minnesota Twins, compiling a 2.93 earned run average across 147 games and 276 innings.
He reached as high as AAA with the Twins and nearly cracked the big league roster as the final cut during spring training.
The left hander shared the field with future Hall of Famers such as Robin Yount, Dave Winfield, Jack Morris, Rod Carew, Alan Trammel and Bert Blyleven before his career was finished after the 1977 season.
Paul would return to the area and earn his bachelor degree at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before getting his masters from the University of Iowa.
He worked a number of jobs in the area, most recently as a store manager for the Mega Holiday station near the Family Fare grocery store downtown in Chippewa Falls.
When the Ausman family needed help, it came from a familiar face to the Chippewa Falls baseball community.
In the days and months after Paul and Raquel suffered their initial ailments, medical bills started piling up, as did the stress of figuring out how to take care of the bills. The family researched grants that could help them with their mounting medical costs, but nothing they found would shoulder the load.
Thats when Joe Vavra came into play.
The Chippewa Falls native and longtime MLB coach met Ausman after Vavra was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth round of the 1982 draft.
We can't do it without you. Support local journalism with our BEST DEAL EVER!
Please call 877-782-0193 to upgrade your subscription.
Read the original here:
Ausman family thankful for recoveries, support from family and community - Chippewa Herald
- Embryonic Stem Cell Fact Sheet - University of WisconsinMadison - October 21st, 2022
- The longevity diet: Lots of beans and periodic fasts slow ageing - The New Daily - September 16th, 2022
- See-through zebrafish, new imaging method put blood stem cells in high-resolution spotlight - University of Wisconsin-Madison - August 14th, 2022
- ISCT's New Leader on the Future of Cell and Gene Therapy - The Medicine Maker - August 14th, 2022
- Erik Ranheim to become chair of Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine - University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health - August 5th, 2022
- It's a Holland Hat Trick: College of Health Professor Gets Three Grant Notifications in One Day - University of Utah Health Sciences - August 5th, 2022
- How long-term Covid-19 immunity paves the way for universal Covid-19 vaccines - Vox.com - August 5th, 2022
- Delayed cord blood clamping: a health boost for babies, and potentially for others - La Crosse Tribune - July 19th, 2022
- Neural stem cells: developmental mechanisms and disease modeling - June 13th, 2022
- The benefits and risks of stem cell technology - PMC - June 13th, 2022
- Hunters, Hearing Loss, and New Tech to Fix it - MeatEater - June 13th, 2022
- Cryopreservation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells - January 20th, 2022
- Post from Community: STEM Forward to honor STEM outreach and engineering excellence at the 69th annual celebration of STEM virtual event - Milwaukee... - January 20th, 2022
- Bring in the bulldozers: Cynatas CEO on how heavyweight FujiFilm will turbocharge its ... - Stockhead - January 5th, 2022
- Polymyositis Pipeline to Progress with New and Emerging Drugs for Treatment, Analyzes DelveInsight - GlobeNewswire - December 10th, 2021
- FDA Approval of Jakafi for Chronic GVHD Provides Another Option, But 'More Work Needs to Be Done' - Curetoday.com - October 5th, 2021
- Researchers May Have Found The Gene Responsible For Cellular Aging - Anti Aging News - December 4th, 2020
- Osteoporosis treatments could be on the way after scientists identify aging gene - iNews - December 4th, 2020
- Stem Cell Assay Market In-Depth Analysis and Forecast 2017-2025 - Khabar South Asia - December 4th, 2020
- Stem Cell Assay Market In-Depth Analysis and Forecast 2017-2025 - Royal Sutton News - October 29th, 2020
- Stem Cell Assay Market to Witness Growth Acceleration During 2017-2025 - Cole of Duty - June 4th, 2020
- Clinical prospects for stem cells begin to emerge - April 28th, 2020
- Answering your sweet onion question and the science of why onions make you cry - Green Bay Press Gazette - April 28th, 2020
- New technique developed to treat hardening of internal organs - WNDU-TV - March 4th, 2020
- Scientists Grapple with US Restrictions on Fetal Tissue Research - The Scientist - March 4th, 2020
- Cells carrying Parkinson's mutation could lead to new model for studying disease - University of Wisconsin-Madison - March 4th, 2020
- Deer hunter or Bambi lover: What you should know about chronic wasting disease - Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net - February 14th, 2020
- Cord Tissue Cell Therapy | Wisconsin Stem Cell Therapy - January 29th, 2020
- The selling of CTE: How the 'Concussion' doctor has built a career on distorted science - Stars and Stripes - January 24th, 2020
- nation briefs - Daily Herald - January 5th, 2020
- Addressing Disparities in Cancer: Factors Influencing Care, Access and Outcomes - OncoZine - December 11th, 2019
- Lab: Nightmares may help the brain prepare for frightening situations in real life - Metro Newspaper UK - November 28th, 2019
- Stem Cell Assay Market Demand with Leading Key Players and New Investment Opportunities Emerge To Augment Segments in Sector By 2025 - The Denton... - November 28th, 2019
- Development of the dopaminergic system - from stem cells ... - April 15th, 2019
- Stem Cell Therapy for Back Conditions Oconomowoc, WI - January 26th, 2019
- Wisconsin Stem Cell Clinic - Forward Healthy Lifestyles - December 31st, 2018
- Knee Conditions Milwaukee, WI | Wisconsin Stem Cell Therapy - November 1st, 2018
- Stem Cells for Hip Brookfield, WI | Wisconsin Stem Cell ... - October 26th, 2018
- Geron Official Affirms iPS Cells Are the Future of Stem ... - October 13th, 2018
- Laws Governing Stem Cell Research Wisconsin Right to Life - June 23rd, 2018
- Knee Conditions | Milwaukee, WI | Wisconsin Stem Cell - October 16th, 2017
- Sponsors World Stem Cell Summit - October 15th, 2017
- Stem Cell Therapy - Cendant Cellular Therapies - Denver ... - October 15th, 2017
- Madison man is first Hmong-American to get an MD-Ph.D. - Post-Bulletin - July 10th, 2017
- Stem cells | | News | UW-Madison - November 20th, 2016
- Public Outreach | Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center - November 20th, 2016
- Chapter 34: Stem Cells - The Hastings Center - September 28th, 2016
- Wisconsin Stem Cell Therapy | Stem Cell Treatments - October 10th, 2015
- 1. Embryonic Stem Cells [Stem Cell Information] - October 1st, 2015
- WISCONSIN STEM CELL SYMPOSIUM - BTC Institute - October 1st, 2015
- How Stem Cells Work - HowStuffWorks - October 1st, 2015
- Variations in cell programs control cancer and normal stem ... - September 8th, 2015
- Local students take part in stem cell camp | Local | apg ... - August 1st, 2015
- Wisconsin Roundup: VC Funding, StartUp Health, Stem Cells ... - July 2nd, 2015
- Stem cell expert: Bart Starr treatment shows need for ... - June 29th, 2015
- Study Reveals How Imaging Technology Can Track Stem Cell ... - June 11th, 2015
- Wisconsin Stem Cell Now Issues and Legislation - June 11th, 2015
- UW-Madison Heart Stem Cell Study Among American Heart ... - May 28th, 2015
- Whitehead Institute - News - 2008 - Human blood stem cells ... - May 1st, 2015
- Science meets art: 2015 Cool Science Images unveiled - April 11th, 2015
- Kentucky Fan Gets Life-Saving Stem Cell Donation From Univ. of Wisconsin Student - April 3rd, 2015
- Blood ties: Ky. basketball fan gets Wisconsin assist - April 2nd, 2015
- Wisconsin Stem Cell Roundtable (WiSCR) - Welcome to Stem ... - March 13th, 2015
- New insights into 3-D genome organization and genetic variability - March 10th, 2015
- UW Stem Cell Researchers Building a 'Retinal Patch' to ... - February 27th, 2015
- New Insights into 3D Genome Organization and Genetic Variability - February 18th, 2015
- First contracting human muscle grown in laboratory - January 14th, 2015
- Eye Researchers Awarded Grant for Stem-Cell Research in ... - January 3rd, 2015
- UW-Madison Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center - December 27th, 2014
- Baby cells learn to communicate using the lsd1 gene - December 16th, 2014
- Advances in lymphoma and multiple myeloma treatment seek to improve outcomes for patients - December 9th, 2014
- Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. and the International Retinal Research Foundation Announce Catalyst Awards for AMD ... - December 4th, 2014
- James A. Thomson - Wisconsin Stem Cell Research Program - December 1st, 2014
- Programs - Cell and Regenerative Biology, University of ... - November 18th, 2014
- Morgridge Scientists Find Way to 'Keep the Lights on' for Cell Self-Renewal - November 13th, 2014
- BioEden the specialist tooth stem cell bank announce ... - November 12th, 2014
- Survival rates in pediatric umbilical cord transplants may indicate a new standard of care - October 30th, 2014
- UW-Madison senior Maria Estevez discusses women pursuing STEM fields - October 27th, 2014
- Cashton man goes from winning state award to battling cancer - October 12th, 2014
- Career Opportunities | Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine ... - September 26th, 2014