The 27th Annual Ice Cream Social is planned for Saturday, July 27th from 4 to 7:30 pm in West Liberty. This year’s event will benefit the Patrick Stanton Family.
39-year-old Stanton is a New York native who moved with his family to Bellefontaine. After graduating from high school, Patrick lived in Bradenton, FL before returning to West Liberty.
Patrick married his wife Courtney in 2019. Together they have 4 children.
Patrick has spent many years in retail management between Publix in Florida and Kroger in Ohio. Patrick enjoys spending time with his wife and children and going on vacations, especially to Gatlinburg, TN. He is a sports fan who likes to hang out with friends and family around a bonfire, play cornhole, compete in fantasy sports leagues, and loves to play golf.
Patrick was diagnosed with a genetic heart condition about 4 years ago. For the most part though, life went on pretty normally. He had a defibrillator implanted just to
be safe and he was admitted to the hospital twice to have some fluid drained off.
At the beginning of December 2023, Patrick started to experience more swelling than normal and feeling “off.” As his energy continued to decline, he kept in contact with his heart doctor to avoid being admitted to the hospital. As Christmas approached, however, it became clear that a hospital visit was unavoidable.
Stanton wanted to be home for Christmas so right after the holiday, he reached out to his doctor who got an open bed and had him come to OSU Ross Heart Hospital to be checked out on December 28.
The next day, the family was told that his heart had taken a significant decline and he needed a heart transplant ASAP. In the meantime, they would place a life support device called an impella implant on the right side of his chest that would take over some of the work of his heart until a transplant became available. This surgery was done on December 30.
On January 7, Patrick’s blood pressure dropped and medical personnel were unable to stabilize it. They were preparing him for the operating room to be put on full life support for his heart, ECMO, and a ventilator.
That afternoon Stanton was considered the sickest person in the hospital. He tested positive for COVID-19 (now quarantined) and also positive for a blood infection, MRSA.
In the days that followed, Patrick was taken off the transplant list because he wouldn’t survive the surgery… He was given an “astronomical amount” of medication to keep him alive. Unfortunately, these medications also restricted blood from flowing to his extremities and his limbs began to die. His kidneys soon shut down and he began continuous dialysis.
But Patrick wasn’t done fighting. Through thousands of prayers from friends and family worldwide, everyone witnessed a miracle as Patrick’s medical condition improved. Day by day, little by little, the doctors were able to decrease the amount of medication and keep a stable blood pressure. And finally, the panel of doctors at OSU decided he was stable enough to be re-listed for transplant.
The very next day, January 19, a matching heart was found! On January 20, after 10+ hours in surgery, Patrick had a new heart and to this day, it has been so strong!
As Patrick continued to fight through recovery from the heart transplant, the decision was made that his arms could not be saved. On January 30, Patrick had both arms amputated below the elbows. On February 16, both of his legs were amputated below the knees.
Stanton continued to fight, though, and got a little better each day.
On April 5th, Patrick finally got the all-clear to leave the hospital setting and start in-patient rehab at OSU’s Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital.
He worked hard to build strength and gain mobility with several therapists. They taught him to drive his power wheelchair, came up with different ideas for ways to accomplish everyday tasks, and challenged him to get moving while having some fun.
With only 4 days left of rehab, Courtney noticed Patrick’s right eye drooping. They mentioned it to the nurse which led to the doctor ordering a CT scan of his head.
That night, April 28, he was taken to the ER and admitted back to the hospital for a very small bleed on his brain.
Fortunately other than noticing his eye, Patrick never had any symptoms and he was still very adamant that he was still fighting to go home as planned! So he was monitored for a few more days and his doctor determined the bleed was stable and he was ready to go home!
Stanton was finally released to go home on May 2, 2024! He still has a lot of healing to do. He is still working on strength through physical therapy. And he will continue to do dialysis 3 days a week. Hopefully, in the next month or so, he will be able to start getting fit for prosthetics for his legs and then begin learning to walk again.
Once he is on his feet again, he will look into getting prosthetic arms. He has set a goal to be back on the golf course next summer and there is no doubt he will make it happen! His attitude and fight through all of this have been amazing.
Patrick is so happy to be home and his family is beyond excited to all be together at home again. Life looks a little different for the Stanton family now, but each day gets easier as they develop routines.
27th Annual Ice Cream Social
Saturday, July 27, 4:00 – 7:30 pm
202 W. Newell St., West Liberty, OH
Sponsored by: West Liberty Churches and West Liberty Lions Club
Featuring: Local musicians
All proceeds benefit the Patrick Stanton family
Donations can be made by check to “West Liberty Ice Cream Social”, PO Box 606, West Liberty, OH 43357
Menu: Noodles, Sandwiches, salads, Pies, Homemade Ice Cream
