After a cardiac arrest and 210 days in hospital, finding a taxi is the hardest part of being home

After seven months in hospital, Lisa Loveless-Hodder thought life would get easier for her 11-year-old son, Jake Anstey, when he was back home. 

In January, Anstey went into cardiac arrest. Loveless-Hodder said his heart stopped for 10 and a half minutes, leaving him with an anoxic brain injury.

The lack of oxygen left the child with global brain damage.

"That has left our previously very active, talkative, extremely lovable boy in a wheelchair," Loveless-Hodder said, "nonverbal, and fed through a feeding tube."

Anstey was born with a combination of heart defects. He had three open heart surgeries before the age of four, but now his heart is considered repaired.

Doctors confirmed Anstey's heart function was not behind his cardiac arrest — leaving the episode's cause unknown. 

"His heart function is actually great. Every test that they have done on his heart, and they've done quite a few, has shown that his repairs are in place," Loveless-Hodder said. "Prior to Jan. 8 of this year, he was living a very normal, active, healthy life."

But without a determined cause, she says, there is no way to prevent a cardiac arrest from happening again. The family now carries a portable defibrillator in case of an emergency.

"When Jake is not in a hospital, he has to have an AED [automated external defibrillator] with him at all times," Loveless-Hodder said. "He's out on the cul-de-sac with his grandparents now, with the AED on the back of the wheelchair in case he were to have another cardiac arrest."

Two weeks ago, Anstey was discharged from the hospital. He was treated at the Izaak Walton Killam Hospital in Halifax until April. Then, he was transported to the Janeway in St. John's, where he received treatment until August. 

"We spent 210 days in total between IWK and the Janeway," Loveless-Hodder said. 

Ready to step into their new normal, Loveless-Hodder thought bringing Anstey home would make things easier. 

They live in Paradise and were ready to get out in the community. 

Loveless-Hodder said Anstey was accepted into the town's accessible transit program, which allows them to travel within the town limits for free in a wheelchair-accessible taxi.