We Wanna Help Nick!

BASICALLY:  Nick had been hospitalized with intense pain caused by multiple infections on his spine. At some point during his care, he suffered an injury or spinal cord infarction to his spinal cord leaving him unable to move his legs with what is technically called "paralysis of the legs".

AUTUMN UPDATE (11/3/20):  Nick has been home since late July, went back in mid-August for a planned spinal fusion & was hospitalized for that for a few weeks of recupe & rehab, & has been home now (for good, we pray!) since mid-September.  He is able to navigate pretty well with his power-assisted wheelchair. 

Home has undergone many changes to make the 1st floor wheelchair accessible--and much more to do, but it all takes time.  Our bathroom was the biggest change as we ripped out our brand-new (but inaccessible) bathroom; were able to salvage the brand-new cabinetry & granite counter-top, light fixtures and toilet.  We now have a neat air-conditioner set up in our attic, three wide pocket doors in our bedroom & bathroom, a really nice tile floor in the bathroom with in-floor heat, and an awesome roll-in shower.  Our old flooring was buffed & shined and honestly, I feel like it's brand-new, though it came with the house (built in the late 60's). 

What a blessing our friends have been to us throughout this entire adventure; your prayers first of all & the cards & letters of encouragement--what a wonderful blessing!   Most of the work/labor on the house has been done for free; we had a crew of painters here that did so much, so fast, a HUGE blessing!  Though we try--we cannot adequately say enough good about the wonderful people who have loved on us so fabulously.  

In July we took out a 2nd mortgage to cover all the contracted work (electrical, plumbing, mechanical, tile floor & walls in bathroom, etc).   If you would like to help pay-down the debt on that loan, we would make sure your donations go directly to that loan.  

God has been so good to us through ALL of this.  We praise Him for the love He has shown us each & every day--all life long.  And for each of you.  

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UPDATED on Mon, 4/27:  The likelihood that Nick will regain use of his legs is little-to-none (though we continue to believe in miracles!).  The reality is that we must live in the present, and Nick needs to work with what he does have, and plan for the future!   Nick is now a patient in the VA Med Center's "spinal cord injury & disorder" unit for rehab.  His projected discharge date (barring any other setbacks) is Thursday, June 11.  At this point we are getting bids from contractors to re-vamp our bathroom and bedroom--in fact, we have to gut our brand new bathroom--had just finished all the work in about a week before all of this started!  The whole first floor has to be made wheelchair accessible.  We're putting in a ramp as well.  And we'll have to do something about getting our vehicle fitted out with hand controls so Nick can drive, too!  

~~~~~~~~~The following info was posted when we set up this GFM page in late March~~~~~~~~~~for more current info, check out our CaringBridge page where we post current situation news & progress:  www.caringbridge.org/visit/newsofnick

MORE DETAILS:  He had been hospitalized for a week as they diagnosed two infections on his spine; he came home with an arsenal of antibiotics and pain relievers (they weren't very effective though).  He was home barely two days when the pain grew much worse, and he started experiencing numbness & odd feelings in his legs and was very wobbly on his feet.  We headed back to the hospital on Mon, 3/30 & he was immediately admitted; doctors did emergency spinal surgery that very night to remove some of the infection from his spine.  Part of the urgency was because he was losing leg strength in the ER.  When he woke up from surgery, he couldn't move his R leg, and before the day was out he lost the ability to move his L leg as well.   He has no feeling below the nipple line.

PROGNOSIS:  Though it is still very early in his treatment, his doctor has referred him to the spinal cord injury team, and depending on pain management, Nick will most likely be transferred to the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the VA Hospital for rehabilitation.  We were told that (besides pain mgmt & healing from surgery) the first order of business is rehabilitation, and so  there are already Physical Therapists (PT) and Occupational Therapists (OT) on his medical team.  Recovery will be "long and not easy."

NEEDS: We have had offers from friends who'd like to help somehow.   So please realize: we are still in the early stages of this situation, therefore only "imagining" some of the changes we'll have to make (house-wise) to accommodate someone in a wheelchair. Unless there is a miracle healing and all of this would be unnecessary, I anticipate that we will have to make modifications to the entry of our home and into our (recently remodeled!) bathroom and the shower stall.  Will we need to do something to our car, to haul a wheelchair or a lift? I don't know.  How much do wheelchairs cost? Or would the VA provide one?  Again, I don't know.

OTHER HELP:  Assuming that we have to modify the entry to our home, widen some doorways for a wheelchair to buzz through, and maybe change out the shower door--we will need some hard workers to work on projects like this.  Someone to purchase the needed supplies (though we have tools in our garage), wood, nails, whatever.   Someone to plan and build a ramp.  Someone to modify the bathroom door opening.  Someone to change out the shower door.    That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  If this is something you can do, please contact me & indicate your willingness.   

URGENCY:  They have told us "weeks" of recovery and rehabilitation.  I don't know if that means 3 weeks & 6 days (just under a month) or some longer amount of weeks?  Maybe they say weeks because mentally "weeks" sounds more hopeful, but maybe it will be months.  I have no idea how long it takes to "rehabilitate" a walking-around man into a wheelchair-bound person.  On top of not being able to voluntarily move from the chest down.  So I don't know how "urgent" it is to get these things done.

And maybe (again I don't know) maybe the county or state or VA will help with some of these things, too.  Maybe we're jumping the gun, but again--friends asked that we establish a GoFundMe, so here I am.  I might be armed but not pointing at the right target.   I guess we'll find out. 

DONATIONS:  If you are moved to donate whatever (money or time or expertise), please know that we are extremely thankful for your generosity no matter the amount or type.   I promise that anything you give will go to Nick's care & recovery & rehabilitation.  And anything leftover would be donated to other spinal cord injured veterans--because that's how we roll.  

God's blessing to all of you.