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Firefighter Eugene Stolowski defied all medical expectations and made his pregnant wife a very happy woman Feb. 22 when he exited Weill Cornell Medical Center to a round of prolonged applause from his colleagues.
We now faces months of intense physical therapy at a nearby rehabilitation facility. Doctors said they were optimistic he would regain full mobility in his arms and hands. They gave him a 30 percent chance of walking again. Mr. Stolowski, 33, sustained a serious spinal cord injury when he and five other firefighters leapt from a burning building in The Bronx on Jan. 23.
Lieut. Curtis Meyran of Battalion 26 and Firefighter John Bellew of Ladder Co. 27 died from the plunge.
Mr. Stolowski's recovery was touch-and-go in the weeks following the fire. Complications from surgery caused a blood clot to form in his spine, and he later developed a dangerous infection. He was in a deep coma and breathing on a respirator during the last week of January. Family members, told by doctors to prepare for the worst, asked that last rites be administered.
Dr. Roger Hartl, the neurosurgeon who twice performed emergency surgery on Mr. Stolowski the night of Jan. 23, described the firefighter's situation as grim.
"His skull was almost disconnected from his spine," said Dr. Hartl, a spine specialist. "But he didn't lose sensation in his body, which was very good. Bit by bit more feeling came back." Given the seriousness of his injuries and the invasive surgeries, Dr. Hartl said, secondary complications like the ones Mr. Stolowski experienced were to be expected.
"It was a struggle. He fought very hard to get better," said Dr. Hartl. "I've gotten to know him over these weeks and he's so strong-a real fighter. That personality helped him recover and it will help him tremendously as he goes through physical therapy"
Although doctors aren't sure Mr. Stolowski will regain complete mobility of his legs, Dr. Hartl said the fact that sensation remained in the lower extremities was a good sign-it means vital nerves weren't severed by the fall. Already, said Dr. Hartl, his patient has beaten the medical odds simply by surviving, so there is every reason to be hopeful.
"Once he got off that respirator and started breathing on his own," said Dr. Hartl, "things got better. That's a big thing with this type of injury. And once the fever and infection subsided, he was ready to get working. All the support that he got from colleagues and friends helped carry him forward."
Of the four firefighters who survived the leap, only Joseph DiBernardo Jr., 34, remains hospitalized. He was moved out of critical care the first week of February and is now listed in stable condition.
Firefighter Brendan Cawley, 31, left St. Barnabas Hospital Jan. 29. Jeffrey Cool, 37, was released from St. Barnabas Feb. 18.
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