By SHELLEY HANSON
Staff Writer
WHEELING – Dawn Borosko says her mother calls her “a hero” for bringing home her younger brother John Berisford, the Moundsville native who was stuck in a Chinese hospital for seven months.
But Borosko believes she did what anyone would do for a sibling in need.
“I try to be a mother hen to him,” she said.
Berisford, 36, has been at the Cleveland Clinic for about 11 days after being flown on a medical plane from China. He was discovered last March unconscious in his apartment in China, where he was teaching English as a second language.
“Nothing was ever found out because it was in China. They covered it up. I’ll never get the answers I need or want,” she said.
Borosko said doctors at Cleveland Clinic determined Berisford had been hit in the head, which caused brain damage. It appears he was assaulted and robbed, as his money was missing. When he arrived at the Chinese hospital he also had a heart attack because of the stress and trauma, she said.
Berisford has a long road of recovery ahead of him, but Borosko, 41, is not giving up on him.
“He’s still in the ICU. He’s on antibiotics. When he came home he was severely dehydrated and malnourished. They overmedicated him with sedatives. It’s a mess – the list goes on and on,” she said Thursday.
It took months for Berisford to make it home, as the Chinese hospital he was taken to required his bill to be paid in full before he could leave. Borosko, along with many friends and family, held fundraisers in the Moundsville area, in addition to setting up an online account to raise the cash needed to pay the bill, along with money for the medical plane.
After seven months, Borosko had raised about $30,000. However, a total of $96,000 still was necessary, and the Chinese hospital bill kept climbing daily, making the effort appear hopeless.
But then Borosko received an anonymous donation of about $60,000 to hit the fundraising mark. Her little brother could finally come home.
Borosko has been at Berisford’s bedside every day since his arrival in Cleveland. She’s decorated his room with photos, cards, newspaper articles about him and banners from fundraisers to make it more cheerful and to perhaps stimulate his mind.
Borosko said their mother, Mary Livingston of Moundsville, has end-stage COPD and is in no condition to travel to Cleveland to see her son. However, Berisford is allowed to have visitors – and Borosko hopes he receives as many as possible.
“The more people who visit him, I think, the better,” she said.
During her own visits with him, Borosko said she plays 4-H music for him for about 30 minutes daily – a reminder of their days together as children. One particular song, “Pass it On,” causes Berisford to open his eyes each time it is played. She also tunes the TV to sports channels so he can listen to football games.
“They said he’s not brain dead. How far his potential is, that will take time to find out,” she said. “He responds to sound and light, and if you bump his bed he opens his eyes and looks at you.”
Borosko said it has been hard to see her brother in the state he is in. If it wasn’t for her husband, Ray, standing beside her she probably would have had a breakdown by now, she said.
“John was a very trusting man and would give you the shirt off his back,” she said. “It’s very hard seeing him like this. He was always going and traveling … to see him now it’s heartbreaking.”
Borosko said she is angry with how the Chinese hospital handled the situation from start to finish. The U.S.-based medical flight crew described the Chinese facility as “one of the worst hospitals they had ever seen,” Borosko said. A feeding tube bottle given to the flight crew from the Chinese hospital was expired, she added.
“I’m mad at what China did to him. They should have taken a little bit better care of him. They basically sedated him and that was it,” she said. “They could have used humanitarian gesture and sent him home, but they kept him until they got their money.”
Still, the efforts have been worth it.
“When he first came home his eyes were wide open. He was looking around. Once he saw me he sighed with relief, but he hasn’t responded since. The doctors are amazed he is alive,” Borosko said. “It’s going to be a long road ahead of us. He’s in and out.”
Borosko said doctors are not sure how long it will take for Berisford to recover. On Friday, Borosko said he was moved to the hospital’s neurological wing for more care. In a few weeks, she plans to have him moved to a Youngstown area hospital. After that, he likely will be placed in a rehabilitation/nursing home in Youngstown, she said.
Borosko said she is still taking donations for Berisford’s medical bills. She said his Medicaid application still is being processed.