UPDATE 6/7/2022- During the last 12 months Gary has made great progress physically & mentally and we are happy to report the progress of the Stem Cell Injection has helped Gary regained some feeling back in his feet/ lower extremities, although not 100% and he still requires his wheelchair. He completed his 5 weeks of intensive rehabilitation with lots of progress and then was moved to another permanent care facility. After many rehabilitation homes and the unfortunate low quality of care Gary received during his stays, our family decided it was best to move him back, in their home with private nursing care. 

Gary receives private care every morning and night, which is an expense that is not covered by insurance. ($3,000 a month) He is up every single morning doing all the physical therapy that he is allowed from the tools, and exercises he can do on his own. These past 12 months have been a blessing to all of us but also a gruesome fight against insurance and doctors for the furthering care he deserves and needs.

We have been at a stand still for the last 6 months in our fathers recovery due to being denied by insurance. He’s being denied the intensive, on going, Physical Therapy he needs DAILY to be able to strengthen his muscles and lower extremities and hopefully walk again. What he needs is consistency, in order to achieve further into his recovery. 

Due to recent unforeseen circumstances our mother Anita, is now unemployed. With the financial stress and responsibility of paying for Gary’s care along the list of many other financial needs, that is weighing down heavily on our family.  All 4 of his children have come together to provide assistance where we can.

After lots of research we have decided the best option for Gary (and financially) is to purchase more equipment in home and have a physical therapist come to him, directly.
The cost of the equipment and a physical therapist for a steady 4-6 months is around $8,000 minimum. We are here to humbly ask, once again for help in raising money for our parents to be able to to purchase the equipment and care needed for Gary. 

Gary’s tenacity, determination and family is what keeps him pushing through. We are so proud of him and his dedication as he has overcome/continues to face many hurdles. 

Thank you so much!! -Curtiss’s 

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This page is being written by the children of Gary Curtiss. Chanel (27), Chad (27), Casey(28) and Collin (32). We are here to share our father's story and to ask for help for his newly disabled life. 

On September 15, 2020  Gary had a Bilateral Stroke (a stroke on both sides of his brain) which is very rare. He was found by a relative in the bathroom unconscious with a very faint pulse for what we expect to believe a few hours. Our dad was unresponsive while the paramedics worked on him and on the way to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital he was immediately intubated and placed on a ventilator (a machine that breathes for him) 



One by one we all started to receive this devastating call, informing us what was going on as Gary was living in Florida at the time helping our grandfather, after our grandmother passed away. Gary had to buy a home and moved his father (96) and took on a full time job just to support our grandfather's medical bills and care. Gary was separated from his wife and kids, and grandchildren for 2 years while he navigated the care for his father. He would fly home to(Orange County, CA) every couple months to see us and to make the best of the situation.

When our father had this stroke he was on the opposite side of the United States, in the middle of a pandemic. Due to COVID none of us or his wife could be there for him, this time was extremely heartbreaking for our family, with no certainty of his outcome. Gary was in the ICU for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks on the ventilator, Gary went into surgery and got a Tracheostomy ( a small opening in his neck to place a tube below his vocal cords to allow air into his lungs) After this surgery our dad was moved to a facility to start his rehabilitation in order to get him talking and to further evaluate the damage to his body. Shortly after his surgery, his kidney's started too fail, he was placed on kidney dialysis (a machine that performs the functions for his kidney) and the discovery was made that Gary also had an unknown auto immune disease called (Guillian- Barre Syndrome) also known as GBS. GBS is condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system.  After a week our dad surpassed all expectations and was able to get his tube from his neck removed. He was able to move his arms and eat and talk but there was still no movement in his lower body. 


Our mother (Anita) was then finally able to visit and she would fly to Florida every 2 weeks for only a few days at a time to be there with him making hard excisions for our father's care, while still having to work full time.  On December 6th, 2020 our father was just stable enough to travel and be transferred to a rehab facility in Orange County, CA. Where he could be close to home near his family. Anita had to pay thousands of dollars just to get him escorted by 2 nurses on a plane, from Florida to California.
After a few weeks of many doctors appointments, X-Rays and CAT scans it was  discovered that Gary not only had a bilateral stroke to his brain but he also had a spinal stroke which is what is causing his paralysis. In the last 4 months Gary has seen 3 specialist and each time has been denied. Our father was told to feel lucky that he's even alive. He's been deined by Social Security benefits and his Veterans benefits due to his "marital status" and our mothers (barely covering income).
Finally, this latest specialist he's seen has agreed to take his case and informed us his only option is Stem Cell Epidural Injection. These Stem cells are suppose to rejuvinate his spine and the nerve damage that's been caused and ultimaltey enable him to walk again. After this injection he will be taken to rehabiliation center a lot further from home for physically therapy.

This Stem Cell injection is $15,000  and insurance doesn't cover the procedure.
Our mother has had to work 6 days a week and juggle day to day responsibility for my dad's care, medical appointments and most importantly the financial burden she's no longer able to keep up with. This is our dad's only hope to hopefully walk again. He has 4 children, 4 grandchildren: Carson (4) Easton (3) Lincoln (1) and Jett (8 months)  he's the best PAPA in the world and has missed a lot of milestones that we know mean the world to him. He's so strong, and has come so far in the past 7.5 months.


We ask for help in affording this only shot we've been given after months and months of being turned away. It would mean the world to us to help our dad in any way we can and help relief our mother with any of the financial costs she's facing.

We are very blessed by the living miracle that he is still with us today.
We love you so much dad. Keep fighting and Staying strong. 
THANK YOU!!