Stacey Chrabaszcz- Book Review

Stacey Chrabaszcz

EDUC 2530 (3)-005

March 11, 2014

Mike Link

 “Rescuing Jeffery” – Richard Galli

    The book “ Rescuing Jeffery”  written  by Richard Galli is a non fictional memoir filled with emotion and inspiration. The author intended to write this book to prove the tragedy that effected several lives. It also proves the strong relationship bond between parents and children. It is not everyday that a devastating crisis such as this occurs, author Richard Galli makes this quite obvious to his readers. This book depicts that even the worst tragedy’s can be overcome, if the right attitude is set in mind. In my opinion this book was not nearly what I initially expected.  I found it intriguing for readers of all ages. It was interesting how drastically people’s lives can be altered in the matter of seconds.

    This novel takes place on July 4^th  1998 , at a family pool party. Seventeen-year-old Jeffery Galli dived head first into his family friends pool and hit his head on the bottom and nearly drowned in the water.  Jeffery’s father had saved his sons life by rescuing him from the bottom of the pool, however this was soon to be only the beginning of this families worries. Following this event, Jeffery had broken his neck, and was now completely paralyzed from his head down with a disastrous spinal cord injury. Immediately Jeffery was rushed to the hospital in critical care. There he was hooked up to life-support for ten long days.  For Jeffery’s parents they worried Jeffrey would never walk again, breathe on his own, or have the chance to use his legs and  arms. The next ten days felt like decades for Jeffery’s parents, Richard and Toby.  During this time, Jeffery’s parents considered potential options for the remainder of Jeffery’s future. They looked into full time care homes, and even questioned whether or not ending Jeffery’s life support was the right choice. "I had brought my son back to life," Galli writes, "and then I had to find a way to kill him.” Mr. Galli’s saved his son from drowning, only to temporarily regret and consider not saving him from quadriplegia. Jeffery told his parents heart wrenching news, that at this point he wished to simply die.   While some doctors at the hospital agreed with Jeffery’s choice, One doctor convinced him that this was not the most suitable resolution. In the mean time , Jeffery had a change in heart. Jeffery was continued of life support and is now a healthy quadriplegic ,living his live with the help of his family and friends. Although his life is majorly altered, Jeffery is now graduated from college just like any other teenage boy. As for Richard Galli, he has closed his work business and moved his practice home so he could better care for his son.

     The reason this book attracted me in the first place, was it reminded me of a personal issue that occurred in my life recently. This past summer I had a close friend encounter a similar tragedy .My friend Colton dove into his pool , hit his head  on the bottom, and then went into a three day coma. Turns out he had a stroke and now suffers major brain malfunctions. Although I am not family, I can relate to how Jeffery’s parents and close peers must have been feeling at this time. Knowing that a person you care about is going through such a hard time, greatly affects the close people around them.  I could not imagine having to go through the situation that Jeffery’s family encountered.  This book revolves around the most important decision whether to “pull the plug” on Jeffery’s life-support or not. This causes a great deal of controversy for Galli’s readers. Some question if this decision was ethical. In my opinion, it was an important factor to consider at the time. Parents only wish the best for their child. I believe they intended that pulling the cord on Jeffery’s life-support would stop his pain and suffering.

     This book proves to be inspirational, and shows that some tragedy’s can be overcome if approached the correct way. I would most definitely recommend this book to others. As stated previously, this book would be suitable for almost any age. More so, this would be a book to consider to parents, teachers and students who suffer similar disciplines. Overall, this novel proves the relationship between parents and children.  Throughout the duration of this novel, Jeffery is unconscious most of the time, however, Richard and Jeffery have a shifting relationship. Both Richard and his son had a change in heart about pulling the live support plug. This demonstrates the strong bond that was progressed during this hard time. In the future I wish to read another book similar to this one. Hopefully one just as intriguing and motivating!