On the afternoon of January 3, 2004, Chad visited a doctor at Kaiser Hospital, as he was unable to swallow and was having difficulty breathing due to a severely swollen sore throat. The Kaiser Clinic took a throat culture and sent him home with no medication to help fight the illness. On January 4, at 3:30am, his throat constricted, blocking off his airway. He was rushed to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for immediate medical attention. He was without oxygen for a substantial amount of time and now suffers from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen). He spent over a month in intensive care. From there he was transferred to Santa Clara Kaiser until he was ready to come out of their ICU, and was transferred to Santa Teresa Kaiser where he stayed until June 16. He was then sent to a Kaiser-contracted skilled nursing facility in Los Gatos.

On July 21, 2004, Chad was rushed from the nursing facility to Good Samaritan Hospital, for another medical emergency because of severe infections. He was severely dehydrated and in septic shock when he arrived at Good Samaritan. Thankfully Good Samaritan's top notch team of ER doctors saved his life and stablized his condition. After that, he was transferred back to Santa Teresa Kaiser on July 23, 2004. Chad was discharged from Kaiser abruptly in late November with almost no warning. Chad came home to his family on December 3, 2004. Though Chad's living situation was not nearly prepared for his arrival, his family and friends made the most of the situation until things were more prepared and comfortable for him.

With no funding for any means of therapy for Chad, his family has been supporting Chad's rehabilitation with physical therapists that come twice a week, chiropractor that comes once a week and our family's efforts to keep him moving and sitting daily.