Joe has passed into peace and rest with God in the eternal glory and joy of Heaven. Please pray for us as we grieve his loss — we are praying for all you who love Joe so much, too. -------- Tuesday morning (5/21) around 9:45 AM, Joe was at his summer job clearing lake weeds in Apple Valley. He was working for YourLake APM that morning. His employers had him using scuba diving gear to clean lake weeds off the lake floor at Lac Lavon lake in Apple Valley (about 20-25 feet deep and very murky). He was not scuba certified and received no formal training or certifications from his employer or any recognized regulatory agency as far as we are aware. That morning was the first time Joe had ever scuba dove. For this dive, Joe was diving unassisted with no visual contact with any other divers and no diving light or safety tether. At the outset of the dive, he was ten or more feet from his nearest coworker with no form of communication between them. When the rest of the group resurfaced after a dive, Joe was not there. His coworkers immediately sprang into action and began sweeping the lake bottom to find him. One of them miraculously found him underwater on the lake floor in about 20 feet of water after sometime between 5 to 20 minutes and was able to swim him to the surface. His coworkers got him to the dock and began CPR immediately, and brought him up closer to where EMS could meet them. Miraculously, there was a fire station just down the road from their work site and EMS was on scene within a few minutes. Joe was not breathing but had a very faint pulse when he was pulled from the water, but EMS was able to get his heart beating well on it's own and continue getting him air in the ambulance. He was very cold from being underwater because he was only provided a wetsuit by his employer in freezing cold water. There is currently a pending OSHA investigation into the serious safety missteps on site that day, and likely an investigation by the Dakota County Sheriffs office will be ongoing. We're not sure yet what went wrong during Joe's dive. We believe he was found with his scuba respirator out. Diving is incredibly dangerous in murky waters like that with limited visibility when one is untrained so any number of things could have gone wrong. We are thanking God that he was even found and pulled out alive, lakes this deep are murky and dark and finding an unconscious person is extremely difficult. The cause of death is believed to be drowning; this will be made official pending the autopsy.
Joe was initially brought to the ER at Fairview Ridges Burnsville, where some of our family — David (dad), Laurie (mom), Katherine (sister), her toddler son John (Joe's first nephew) and Whitney (sister) — were able to stand by his side and pray while he was being treated and Jake (brother-in-law, Katherine's husband) also immediately left work to come get John and began praying too. Sam (brother) was out of town and immediately began the 11-hr drive home from a visit in Oklahoma with Anna (Sam's girlfriend who has gone above and beyond to fill unspoken needs in the last 36 hours), and Sophia (sister) & Michael (brother-in-law) who live out of state also immediately went to Mass and Adoration and began to pray, along with thousands of you, our extended family, dear friends, and friends we haven't even met yet. Our family parish priest, Fr. Belden, also came immediately to give Joe the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, which is a powerful prayer to heal those in need. Joe was warmed up and checked for other injuries, and we are thankful that none were found. His initial head CT scan was difficult to read since he had been having myoclonic jerks, but he was stabilized enough in the ER to move him up to the ICU. Joe's blood pressure was difficult to keep at a good level and his blood oxygen levels were low, but with the hard work of the great medical team we had at Fairview and so many prayers, he began making small improvements. His initial neurological function tests were not promising, so we have made "protection and healing of Joe's brain" our main prayer intention. Joe also had a lot of fluid in his lungs, not lake water but probably a result of the trauma from the accident. He had more CT scans which didn't reveal damage, though the doctors have said it may take time for the extent of brain damage to show up. We were also so comforted and supported by the family and friends who showed up to pray with us, pray over Joe, and took care of us with hugs, prayers and food.
That evening, Joe was transferred to the ICU at the U of M Fairview East Bank, which is a fantastic hospital with tons of resources and highly specialized, skilled staff. Thankfully there were no problems during the transfer and he got settled in the ICU here with an awesome medical team. We are so grateful for all the knowledgeable people who've been caring for Joe, how kind they've been to us, and how well they have been communicating his condition to us. Joe has been making very small moves in positive directions but there are still many serious and concerning things to pray about. His brain activity is being monitored, and while there is activity, it is sporadic and concerning. He is on a ventilator and had a scary moment early the first morning after his accident where his oxygen levels dropped dramatically — thankfully the doctors and nurses were able to bring those levels back up, but he was still struggling to get good perfusion in his tissues and extremities, especially since some of the essential blood pressure medications he was given can lead to poor circulation and even the need for amputation of fingers, toes and limbs. We are continuing to pray hard that his brain was protected from serious damage while he was without oxygen underwater, praying for a miraculous total recovery and healing of any and all damaged neurological or other organ functions, and praying that he responds well to the medications and fluids that doctors are giving him to keep all his body working to heal.
It became clear on Friday, May 24 that God was calling Joe home to Heaven. We were blessed to have time to hold him, cry with him, laugh with him, and send him off peacefully to the loving arms of God. We will update this page with funeral details when we have them. Thank you all — words cannot express how much your love has comforted us.
