My dad, best known to others as Skeater, is disabled with Beckers Muscular Dystrophy.  MD in its true fashion has done just as it should and has progressively stolen my dad's independence.  On New Years Eve my dad took a bad fall due to the decreased muscle mass in his legs, which caused a humurus fracture in his right arm and a significant rotator cuff injury in his left.    This injury could be a temporary halt in an average person's life but is now a permanent debilitation to my dad who relies solely on his arms to get himself up from a sitting position.  This includes getting himself in and out of bed, being able to use the bathroom on his own, etc.  With the odds already stacked against him dad became unresponsive Saturday evening when his pulse rate skyrocketed, his oxygen levels tanked, and the CO2 levels in his blood were four times what they should be.  This caused fluid to fill his lungs and he essentially was drowning in his own fluids.  They were able to administer Lasiks to help reduce the fluid build up and he has been in the Critical Care Unit at Mary Washington Hospital ever since.  MD does not discriminate against which muscles it deteriorates so that now my dad's lungs have been progressively collapsing which causes CO2 to build up in his blood because he isn't able to take deep enough breaths to expel all the CO2 when he exhales.   Because of this he has been on an assisted breathing machine, a bipap, which forces oxygen into his lungs.  The bipap has decreased the CO2 levels a considerate amount although the Drs have now told him that there is nothing further they can do to rectify that.  This is Muscualr Dystrophy "doing it's job".  He will have to remain on bipap for the rest of his life for considerable amounts of time everyday to ensure the CO2 levels aren't given a chance to rise again in his blood.  All of this on top of the arm injuries which now make it impossible for him to maintain any independence.   Because of this the hospital is sending him to a rehabilitation center for an undetermined amount of time for both therapy and to teach him "his new normal".  Because he does not qualify for Medicaid this entire hospital stay, the rehabilitation center, and any/all equipment he will now need for the rest of his life is only covered at 80%.  Life is already tough enough  given that all the odds are stacked against him and I want to ensure that with all of these new life changing events that he focuses solely on his physical and mental state and does not have to worry about how he will be able to afford this help.  Even when he is able to return home he will need to have home care to assist with daily activities such as using the bathroom, taking a shower, getting in and out of bed and Medicare will only cover an hour a day/ 3 days a week for a temporary period of time.  Even if you don't have the financial means please keep my dad and our family in your thoughts and prayers.