My name is Ryan Gordon. On August 14th, my mom, Susan, underwent back fusion surgery to alleviate chronic, debilitating pain. Upon waking from surgery, she lost all feeling in her left leg…devastating! Tests confirmed a spinal cord hematoma was the cause of her post surgery paralysis which left her unable to begin the necessary PT following surgery. Sadly…this was just the beginning of what my mom is now dealing with.

At day 5 post surgery, the left leg paralysis continued and Susan endured excruciating pain while attempting to simply stand for a few short seconds. And...to make matters worse, my mom developed a colon perforation which required emergency, life saving surgery to repair her colon (she now has a colostomy for the next 4-6 months until another surgery can be done.)

Surgery upon surgery led to multiple blood clots in the leg and lung which had to be immobilized and internal bleeding which required blood transfusions.

During the next 3 weeks, Susan was in and out of consciousness as her weakened body worked to heal. My sister and I along with an incredible friend, Richard, his sister Ann and my mom’s siblings rotated through Jacksonville to be at her side not knowing if she would pull through.

To our amazement, Susan regained consciousness!!! We appreciate all the phone calls, well wishes, prayers and so much more. We are so very grateful.

On September 6, Susan was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital to continue healing and work to regain function in the left leg. Mom has a very long recovery ahead of her with no assurance she will regain full use of the left leg.

As many of you know, mom led a very active life while living in Ponte Vedra Beach for the past 15 years. She loves the community, her friends and her work as a registered labor/delivery nurse at Baptist Beaches Hospital and most recently as a home health care provider. My mom lives alone and continued to work up until August 14 to support herself. Susan’s focus is on healing and regaining the ability to walk with an undetermined timeline of when and if this will ever happen.

I understand everyone is struggling right now with something. For my mom, the stress of keeping up with regular household bills, ongoing care expenses and medical debt is overwhelming. My sister and I are trying to help alleviate some of that worry for her. If you are reading this and are able to donate, any amount is very much appreciated.

If not, a simple share would also mean a lot.

Thank you for taking time to read this….Ryan. ❤️