Delco man returns home from vacation after overcoming impossible obstacles during dangerous illness

RIDLEY PARK, Pa. – An emotional homecoming has been five months in the making for Joe Laudadio of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.

“I’m happy he’s home,” says Joe’s grandson, Vincent Angstadt.

It’s something Joe’s wife, three children and six grandchildren weren’t sure they would see.

“As an ICU nurse, I knew how sick he was,” says Joe’s wife Peggy. “Actually, I didn’t think I was going to live.”

“My goal was to be home for Thanksgiving and I made it one day early,” Joe says proudly as he beats the odds one day at a time.

Last June, Laudadio was rushed to the hospital after becoming disoriented due to flu-like symptoms. Later, he realized he had a staph infection, which caused sepsis and a stroke.

“Septic shock was going through my body because I had an artificial valve,” Joe explains. “It attacked that and then it flew away.”

Joe was on a ventilator and on dialysis. He had a feeding tube and needed heart surgery. But he kept fighting.

“I wanted to live. I’m not going to give up,” he said.

Five months later, the professional carpenter, long-distance cyclist and Pop-Pop devotee is now a quadruple amputee.

“The new objectives are to walk with prostheses,” he proclaims.

Joe perseveres and inspires.

“He never gets down, he never gets angry,” Peggy says.

While Joe still has a long and expensive road ahead of him, he and his family count their blessings with many family, friends, co-workers and neighbors stepping up to help.

“They never stop asking, ‘What can we do for you?'” Peggy explains.

The Laudadios say they are grateful to be home together once again.

“They’ve been by my side every minute of the day since it happened,” Joe says. “It’s the greatest thing.”

Here is a link to Laudadios Gofundme Page. The funds will help the family purchase necessary equipment, such as a stair lift, new ramps for their home and a specialized van.