Chris Verdi

On December 10, 2017, Christopher Verdi who had just turned eighteen a few weeks earlier, was spending a typical Sunday afternoon with friends at the beach. He dove headfirst into the ocean when he tragically broke his neck. Luckily, bystanders observed he was in trouble and pulled him out of the ocean. Chris was placed on an emergency life flight to the hospital, where he spent several weeks in the intensive care unit.

Chris underwent surgery to fuse his C4 to C6 vertebrae together. Three days later, he had another surgery to stabilize the front of his neck with a wire cage. Chris ended up being intubated and put on a ventilator after battling pneumonia that he contracted from swallowing seawater, and he developed severe stage 4 bedsores on his tailbone area. Because of the severity of his injuries, Chris had to be put on a feeding tube. Rehab was on and off throughout the year as Chris had to undergo numerous surgeries to his bottom area where the bedsores had occurred, accumulating over 100 stitches.

Chris lost over 50lbs of body weight in the process; at his lowest, he weighed 123lbs. Once the surgeries had been finished and his wounds healed, he could finally go outside for the first time in over a month.

Chris spent almost the entire year of 2018 at the Hospital in Colorado, moving between Craig Rehab Hospital and Swedish memorial Hospital for surgeries and physical therapy.

November 2019 made one year that he has been home. He has some weight back and has limited use of his arms and shoulders but cannot move his fingers. Recently he was able to transition from a motorized wheelchair to a manual one, although it is challenging for him to push it.

We are using a manual hydraulic lift to transport him to a portable shower outside on the lanai to bathe. To attend Doctor’s appointments or leave the house, Chris must rely on public transportation and needs to have an ADA wheelchair-accessible van. Extensive modifications are required for the roll-in shower and lifting device to be able to bathe indoors. Chris has also been looking into getting stem cell surgery which could potentially give him some movement below his level of injury back. These obstacles are a financial challenge that Chris cannot face alone and needs your assistance. 

Please share your Aloha to assist Chris and his family in obtaining a better quality of life to help them endure these financial burdens.