Dave Vickers ' the miracle'

Hey my name is Stephanie , I'm making this go fund me page for my father. As most know ... on May 13th 2018 my dad suffered from an aortic dissection & detachment from the brain. This all happened on a Saturday while he was working down in Baltimore at the time. He must of had an Angel watching him that day because honestly he should not be here with us today. He was working & my father has struggled with high blood pressure for years now & all his Dr did was change his medication. Well he was working & was aggravated & went back in his truck. A guy that was at the yard he was at called his name & waved him back out of his truck , my dad hopped out & when he got to the gentlemen he said to my dad you don't look well & my father agreed he wasn't feeling good to call an ambulance. At this time he collapsed. & what we thought was a heart attack wasn't... He was in Baltimore & was rushed to bay view but my dad's condition was to serious so they transported him to John Hopkins. We recieved the call around 11:30am & were told to get there immediately! We had absolutely no idea what happened,  so many people were calling with different stories , but the Dr needed consent over the phone for him to operate. We left & rushed to Baltimore. When we arrived , ugh the sight & thinking back in my head still scares the crap out of me ... We walked in to my father on life support. I have never seen so many machines & hook ups in my entire life. I froze & looked at my mom thinking is he alive ?... The Dr then came in & explained what happened. He told us that it was only a matter of time before aorta blew the way it did. He hadn't went back for surgery yet,  so the surgeon came in & explained how the were going cut him & what his plans were. My dad went back for surgery at 7;30pm , we went out to get air & make calls after they took him to the OR. Within 30 mins the Dr called my mother's phone & again explained what his plan of action was & explained a little more exactly what had happened. He said that my father's main aorta has two parts A & B both had blew & shredded from his heart to his legs & the pain of this is someone getting shot straight in the chest with a double barrel shot gun he had no idea how my dad survived this & was conscious the entire time until they sedated him  .... He ended the conversation with I give this a 90% chance of him making it. Okay ,  we were happy to hear the somewhat good news. Hours & hours go by & we hear nothing. By this time it's very early morning & then my mom's phone rings it's the surgeon. Bad news. He had no idea how bad my father's situation was until he cut him opened & he told us how very sick he was , he had a bleeding coming from somewhere they couldn't figure out , & no one ever survives an aortic dissection EVER ! His 90% went down to 45% .. talk about a stab in the heart. We were completely heart broken. We all by we all everyone at the hospital that night that stayed by our sides " his brother my uncle Frank , my aunt Jenn , his sister Donna , his daughter flew in from Florida Tanya & made it to the hospital by 2am I think ... his niece Marie & her husband Moses  along with my mother & myself. We all sat in the waiting room they had for us & that's what we did waited ... which seemed like forever. I remember drifting off to sleep but I was still awake & I heard the door open I looked at the clock & it was exactly 4:32am , I looked at my mom walked over to her& sat down put my arms around her & the surgeon came & sat next to us. We knew it wasn't good .. the look on his face , the way he grabbed my mom's hand to comfort her & the way he spoked softly & so we under stood .. He said , exact words - your husband is a very very sick man & we had no idea how serious it was going to be until I opened him  , he lost a ton of blood had so many blood transfusions I can't even remember , he suffered a stroke during surgery & also had a detachment from the brain & he was out of surgery but they left him opened. Now the Dr tells us he's not going to make it thru the rest of the night to please call & get family up there ASAP ! The room went completely silent , you could hear a pin drop ... Then my mom lost it , I'm holding her thinking you have to be strong & keep it together not only for your mom but for my dad too & the rest of my family. By 7:30 am he was back in surgery with bleeding they couldn't find , & then they found it but continued to leave his chest open. It was Erie ... you could feel the energy all around you .. We made every important phone call we had to make & within hours we had family walking in all the way from VA up to the Mountains of Pa. At this point it's afternoon Sunday afternoon mother's day. & it was time that we were able to go back and see him ! This is hard to write this is a traumatizing imagine I try to forget. It was only 2 at a time . So I went back with my husband.  We got to his room & both paused outside the door trying to brace ourselves for what we were about to see. We went in & there he lied. Chest wide open " covered of course " in a coma with so many machines & medicines they were everywhere . You literally couldn't even move walk around or get near the bed. He was on machines for everything. Breathing , pumping his heart , working his lungs etc .... & he was so big with swollen purple eyes when I say big I mean it  unrecognizable .. my husband looked at him looked at me & said I will meet you in the hallway I can't do this. I was on the verge of losing it myself but still wouldnt let myself again i needed to be strong for my family ! So we went back to the waiting room. & that's why they call it the waiting because that's exactly what you do wait .... a few days go by & my dad start to progress with a few minor setbacks ... the Dr is very impressed & they finally closed him up , each day was something new & different ... it was 10 steps forward to go back 20 ! It was a fighting battle every single day. He fought hard , he showed his strength & proved every single person in that hospital wrong ! That's why I named this " the miracle " because that's exactly what he is & is what every Dr has said about him ! I could go day by day but i won't. Finally after 3 wks in a coma & not knowing the outcome he woke up ! Didn't have a voice because of the tube , very very confused / disoriented had no idea what was going on where he was or what had happened. He was doing well & finally moved out of CCU. One day we were home just taking a break getting food showering etc ... I hear my mom scream 1st thought omg no ! She flies up the stairs Dave's on the phone omg he's on the phone ! I was confused but got on the phone & there was my daddy ❤ talking , joking .. I couldn't believe it, he still had no idea what was going on or what had happened. The Dr planned on telling him everything over the next few days. He passed all his test & was discharged to a rehabilitation facility. He finally came walking thru our house door on June 28th ! Something we thought we would never see again! He had his post op a couple weeks ago & is doing well , his pace maker is doing great , he's doing good just taking it one day at a time & on top of all this all my dad would say was he couldn't wait to get home to see his baby little girl & she So happened to get very sick & had to be put down a couple weeks ago ☹ she was their baby she lived the best life a dog could ever have she just turned 12. Any one who knows my father knows he is a gentle giant who does anything & everything he could for the people he loves ! He has given people the shirt off his back a few times ! & would do it again & again ! He is helping people even when times were tough on him he still found a way to help that person in need ! This is his 2nd chance at life ... thanks again for reading my story & also thank you for sharing !, I'm writing this & doing it for him because my dad knows nothing but working & driving his truck he's been doing it since he was 17. He wants to go back now . That's just impossible at this time. He needs to rest still , yes he might be & feel okay but he's been thru hell & back ! He lost sight in one eye due to his detachment. As of now , they are living off their savings. But we all know that doesn't last forever. He has medical bills out to wazzoo , he has bills to pay at home , he will be returning to work but needs a bit of help getting by till he does! No amount is to small , whatever you can do.  If you can't help please share someone you know might be able to.  Thank you. God bless you all! My family appreciates all your prayers & help along the way !