Medical and Bills for Karl Frick
The Story:
As some of you may have already heard, my father, Karl Frick, had a recent emergency visit to St. Lukes Hospital system, first in Quakertown, PA and then transferred to their main campus in Bethlehem, PA. He was admitted to the Emergency Room, ICU, and CCU before he was taken in for surgery. His surgery was supposed to last 3 hours, but ended up lasting longer than 7 hours. The procedure called for a 30" incision in his leg to replace collapsed arteries in his leg, which were not allowing blood flow to his foot. He actually had no pulse in his foot for quite some time, and originally the surgery had a 40% chance of working, or he would have lost his leg. Thankfully, with the bypass they put into his leg, he was soon getting circulation and blood flow all the way down to his foot, which essentially saved his leg from the knee down.
Dad has a long road ahead of him, including another identical surgery on the other leg, as well as extensive physical therapy to rehabilitate both legs.
First, I want to thank the surgeons at St. Luke's in Bethlehem, PA. Without your team, my Dad may well have lost his leg, or potentially his life. We are forever grateful to you. I'd also like to thank my Mother who forced the stubborn bull (my Dad) to go to the hospital after seeing symptoms of blood clots and other issues in his legs.
His Conditions:
Dad has been diagnosed with the following conditions:
-Ischemia, which is a restriction in blood supply to tissues, causing a shortage of oxygen and glucose
needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive).
-Peripheral Arterial Disease, which is a narrowing of the arteries other than those that supply the heart or the brain.
-Deep Vein Thrombosis, which is the formation of a blood clot (thrombus) within a deep vein,[a] most commonly the legs.
How your funds will help:
As of right now, our funding goal is a theoretical goal. We do not have the bill for this surgery and hospital stay, let alone the second surgery, or the physical therapy for both surgeries. When we get a better idea of the total costs, we will update the goal. Depending on the timing of the second surgery, we may leave this GoFundMe open, or perhaps start a second one.
My Mom and Dad do not have medical insurance, nor do they qualify for Goverment assistance programs like Medicaid. Dad will be out of work for quite some time for this first surgery, and then again for his second surgery, between recovery and rehab times. Mom only works part time, and will be needing to tend to Dad regularly, so we expect her hours to be cut during this time as well. 100% of your donation will go directly to my Dad to provide financial assistance for the following items:
-Medical Bills (ER, ICU, Ambulance, CCU, Operation, Recovery)
-Physical Therapy Bills
-Help With Household Bills and Mortgage
-Help With Providing Food
What's next?
Dad has a long road of recovery ahead of him. He will be out of work for up to a couple of months. He will require a large amount of physical therapy to rehab his leg. After this leg is healed and rehabilitated, he will need to go back and have the same operation on his other leg to save that leg from similar issues down the road, since both legs have the same affliction.
We will also be putting together a Beef and Beer fundraiser called A Koncert for Karl, details of which will be shared across social media to help raise funds to offset these medical bills.
Any donation amount, small or large, is greatly appreciated. It is going to take a lot to get them back on their feet, but we are doing everything we can to help them do it quickly, and with the least disruption to their lives as possible.
