Give Matt a Fighting Chance!

#OperationOrange was started for Matthew Orange, BA (BKA “Orange).  Orange is 23 years old and a 2020 graduate of the University of North Texas.  On September 26th he was rushed to the hospital via ambulance and was suffering from Diabetes Ketoacidosis (DKA).  He had a blood sugar of 700+.  He was stabilized until 4 am, September 27th, when he went into cardiac arrest. He was down for 16 minutes, but he fought to come back.  He was placed on a ventilator to give his organs a break.  His kidneys began to fail shortly after, requiring him to go on dialysis.

After being given time to allow the brain swelling to go down, a brain scan showed he had experienced a severe anoxic brain injury.  To be exact, there is no differentiation between the gray and white matter in his brain.  

Orange has been off the ventilator for over a week now (11/02/21) and his kidneys have returned to a normal state and he is no longer on dialysis! The next steps are to get him the care he will need.  The prognosis is that he will need 24/7 medical care for the rest of his life.  The severity of care he will need can only be impacted with Rehabilitation for his brain.  

Texas NeuroRehab - Austin, has accepted Orange as a patient but his insurance (United HealthCare) has continuously declined coverage, 2 appeals after conducting 2 peer to peers.  They state that he is still unstable, but will not tell us “how” what they consider stable.  They also have not sent the decline letter, preventing us from escalating the appeals further.  We are still fighting UHC, however, time is of the essence. The longer the brain is without purposeful stimulation the less likely he is to have a meaningful recovery.

 

Out of pocket costs for Texas Neuro is $48,000/30 days.  The average stay is 25 days. We are asking for your help to raise the funds for the necessary treatment Matthew needs, attorney support as the family applies for guardianship, and other unforeseen expenses.

 

Orange a Video production intern with the University of Texas Football Team. He also worked at Central Market, Texas’ beloved grocery chain. He just moved into his 1st self-leased apartment in Plano, TX, mid August, where he was working in video production and football recruiting. His parents, family members, friends, and loved ones are doing all that they can, but can’t do it alone.

As a creative, Orange, writes songs, poetry, and creates beats.  He loves the New Orleans Saints and LSU.  He is an extremely supportive son, brother, cousin, boyfriend, and friend. A hardworking, determined and goal- driven young man always ready to push himself harder.

 

We (parents: TiWanna Kenney and Greg Orange) humbly ask that you all help alleviate  the financial burden, as  insurance refuses to cover this in network care (what the funds will be used for). 

He is currently hospitalized in Plano, TX, his mother and father reside in the Austin Metro and have been staying in Plano, TXto monitor his care and support his healing. 

United HealthCare is not doing their job and we thank you for learning more and stepping in.  Please share on all social networks: www.gofundme.com/f/OperationOrange and make sure the world hears about #OperationOrange.