Jeff Attiliis

On January 28,Jeff suffered a seizure followed by cardiac arrest. We know Jeff as a husband (Nancy), father (Lizzie and Claire), brother (Denny, Marie, Hap and Teresa,), brother inlaw to (Sherie, Bill, Cat, Bill,, Debbie, Mark, Suzanne, Stevie.  .  . .), uncle, cousin and dear friend to so many more. We want you to know how he is doing  and using caringbridge will, we hope, make this easier on everyone, as this will be a long and difficult journey.


Jeff had a seizure at home which rendered him unconscious and led to his heart stopping three times as he was transported to Inova hospital cardiac care, Fairfax. There it was determined that he was to be treated by a hypothermia procedure of about 18-24 hours. He was unconscious until around 530 a.m. January 30. His wakening was the first strong indication we had that he could survive. The hypothermia treatment is used only when there are few if any options, so the success rate is only about 20%. Jeff beat the odds.


Jeff continues  to be  sedated until conditions are ideal for the removal of the respirtory tube. We also hope his heart function will begin to improve as the fluid that has accumulated around his heart dissipates. He has  developed an infection that is commonly caused by aspiration during the kind of trauma he suffered. At this stage visitation is restricted to only Nancy, as all visits seem to stimulate him and we need him to remain in la-la land a while longer.


We are using CaringBridge so we can keep everyone apprised of Jeff’s progress and to facilitate communications among his large village of folks wo love him. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement.