Dave Melzer's Hawaiian Nightmare
Donation protected
As many of you know, our parents are amazing humanitarians with the biggest hearts one could imagine. They bend over backwards to help people in need. Throughout their lives, they have dedicated the majorirty of their time to working with youth, homeless, impoverished and multiple other charities. A few years ago our Dad received his Master in Divinity and he is yet again in school for ministry. This time he is working on becoming a chaplain at Loyola Hospital. This new ministry will allow him to serve those with illness in need.
Being such giving people, as you can imagine, our parents rarely do anything for themselves. After over 40 years of marriage they finally had planned on going on the honeymoon vacation they never had. They planned the trip so that our Mom would be able to celebrate her 60th birthday while vacationing. Our dad planned all sorts of special events and surprises for her big day. They spent months researching and booking flights and a cruise through the Hawaiian Islands. It was the first time our Mom was going to be leaving the continent. We have not seen them this excited about something in a very long time.
Being such giving people, as you can imagine, our parents rarely do anything for themselves. After over 40 years of marriage they finally had planned on going on the honeymoon vacation they never had. They planned the trip so that our Mom would be able to celebrate her 60th birthday while vacationing. Our dad planned all sorts of special events and surprises for her big day. They spent months researching and booking flights and a cruise through the Hawaiian Islands. It was the first time our Mom was going to be leaving the continent. We have not seen them this excited about something in a very long time.
They arrived in Hawaii on Friday March 28th, and when our Dad got off of the plane, he could hardly walk. Since he had a hip replacement last year, he attributed the discomfort to this. Once they made it to their hotel they had a massage therapist come to the room to work on his sore hip. The massage gave him some relief and he was able to go to bed. He woke up in the middle of the night in the worst pain of his life. He was wailing in pain and running a high fever. Our Mom immediately called 911 and he was sent by ambulance to the ER.
By the time he got to the ER he was already in septic shock. Somehow, he had contracted an infection that went into his hip, and caused a blood infection. They had to do emergency surgery in order to flush his hip out. After regaining a normal heartbeat and getting his blood pressure under control he is finally getting close to being able to come home.
Their dream vacation turned into a nightmare. The money that they would have spent on this trip (and then some), will unfortunately have to be spent on medical bills, very expensive medical flights back to Chicago, a hotel room for our mom and transportation for her to get to and from the hospital daily.
There have been so many times thoughout our lives that our parents have given money to those in need rather than spending it on themselves. We are now graciously asking our greater family community to consider helping Patti and Dave by making a small donation towards their medical expenses.
By the time he got to the ER he was already in septic shock. Somehow, he had contracted an infection that went into his hip, and caused a blood infection. They had to do emergency surgery in order to flush his hip out. After regaining a normal heartbeat and getting his blood pressure under control he is finally getting close to being able to come home.
Their dream vacation turned into a nightmare. The money that they would have spent on this trip (and then some), will unfortunately have to be spent on medical bills, very expensive medical flights back to Chicago, a hotel room for our mom and transportation for her to get to and from the hospital daily.
There have been so many times thoughout our lives that our parents have given money to those in need rather than spending it on themselves. We are now graciously asking our greater family community to consider helping Patti and Dave by making a small donation towards their medical expenses.
Organizer
Courtney Melzer
Organizer
Chicago, IL
