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PLEASE SEND YOUR LOVE, ENERGY AND HELP TO ALEX AND LEAH!
About 10 years ago, I spent the time of my life chasing snow with one of the most fun, kind and intellectual people I know; my lifelong friend, Alex. Buddies from growing up in the same small town and working summers together at the golf course, we spent two years crisscrossing the country between Colorado, Massachusetts, and Utah. We drove hours and hours together talking about life, family, the universe, politics, and no less than 1,000 business ideas.
At the end of our journey, I settled for a “real job” and moved to Seattle. But what I always appreciated about Alex was that he kept chasing life in Park City. He was doing what he loved to do the most; making stylish turns down steep slopes!
In Park City, Alex developed new friendships, met Leah, got married, built a house, and had a child, building a life and family of his very own. What he doesn’t know is how much I continue to admire and respect him. I look back on our ski season in Park City as a moment of found perfection lost to youth. But Alex made that perfect season his entire life!
And that is what makes Alex's newest story so heartbreaking; life never allows for perfection. On Thursday, March 18, 2021, I received one of the worst messages from my beloved friend. The kind of message you dread from those who spend their winters on the mountain. Alex had a ski accident. A big one.
WHAT HAPPENED
Alex broke his right femur, shattered his left pelvis, and cracked two vertebrae above his tailbone after spinning out into the forest at high speed under the Tombstone lift at Park City Mountain Resort while trying to avoid a collision with another skier. As part of the rescue, the first responders had to cut down two trees that he was wedged between. Fortunately, he was alive! But his injuries were severe and he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, preparing for emergency surgery the next morning.
Since surgery, Alex has endured countless complications and setbacks in his recovery, including a perforated bowel, twisted colon, the start of an abscess, bowel blockage/paralysis, dangerously low sodium, all of which resulted in two additional surgeries, 48 hours in the ICU, lack of sleep, intense pain, nausea, no appetite, hallucinations, blurred vision, agitation, anxiety and more (he was even forced to cut his flowing hair!). As of 4/20/21, he's been in the hospital for 33 days. Leah and Alex's parents have been trading shifts to be by his side and also care for sweet Beatrice. Words and stories can't even begin to explain; not to mention that Leah is 20+ weeks pregnant!
Below is a full report (and more photos!) about Alex's accident, surgeries, challenging path towards stabilization and still-pending discharge from the hospital. I encourage you to read the full sequence of events so you can best understand the long road ahead towards recovery. Alex, Leah, Beatrice, Baby #2, Alex's parents, Leah's parents, and the rest of their loved ones need as much support as we can give.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
In response to everyone's requests, this Go Fund Me campaign is the most efficient and impactful opportunity to help Alex and Leah. The goal is to provide financial relief so their family can focus on recovery together. Your donations will go towards Alex's surgeries, his hospital stay, physical therapy, at-home medical care, home improvements for Alex's immobility, future medical bills including another potential surgery, and all the other expected incidentals (childcare, meals, housework, yard work, etc.).
Whether you know him as Alex or Gary; from Northboro or Lemoyne; from Massachusetts or Utah; we ask for your love and help now and will be forever thankful for your generosity. We all want to see Alex get back on his feet and doing what he loves the most; spending time with his beautiful wife, playing with his precious daughter, welcoming his newborn baby, and skiing.
TAKE ACTION
Please Donate. Please share this link. Please Pray. Please continue to send Alex and Leah your loving messages. And please take the time to hug your loved ones a little more often as life is truly precious. God bless.
NOTE: We want to raise as much as possible and even more than the $10,000 campaign goal. As you consider a donation, please know that one generous family committed to giving an additional $5,000 as soon as the $10,000 goal is met. Also, Alex and Leah plan to donate and pay forward any unused funds.
· March 18th, 2021 – Alex was in a ski accident by the Tombstone lift at The Canyons side of Park City Mountain. A small kid popped out from behind a slow sign as Alex was approaching. In order to avoid a collision, Alex made a quick maneuver, caught a ski edge and tumbled into some trees. Ski patrol was there within minutes, brought him off the mountain, and an ambulance rushed him to the University of Utah hospital. Imaging revealed Alex broke his right femur and left pelvis from the impact (several weeks later they confirmed that Alex also cracked to vertebrae above his tailbone).
· March 19th, 2021 – Alex had an 8-hour ortho surgery to repair his femur and pelvis. I don’t know the quantity, but a rod and a gazillion screws were placed in the femur and several plates, screws and pins to repair the pelvis. The surgery was successful and we were anticipating to be discharged from the hospital in 2 – 3 days, with 2 weeks of no weight bearing on the right leg and 3 months of no weight bearing on the left leg. Alex would require a wheelchair.
· Alex started having abdominal pain within a day or so after the surgery, which isn’t uncommon from gas build-up after surgery. But after 36 hours of intense pain and applying non-surgical measures that were not improving it, a CT scan identified that he had a perforated bowel.
· March 22nd, 2021 – Alex had emergency intestinal surgery to explore the perforation. It was concluded that a cecum volvulus (twisting of the colon) caused part of the cecum to be necrotic (dead or dying) and perforate, so they had to remove part of the cecum (part of the colon) and create an ileostomy. Notified Alex wouldn’t be discharged for at least a week, as his bowels need to wake up and show signs of function.
· Things improved for Alex for a couple of days, but soon he started to again have a lot of abdominal pain. His increased white blood cell count, temperature, redness around his abdomen and wounds, bloating and pain to the touch were indicative of an infection.
· March 27th, 2021 – Alex underwent a second intestinal surgery to explore the infection. They located quite a bit of puss in the abdominal cavity that was indicative of the start of an abscess. They cleaned out the puss and added a drain. The abdominal wound from the first abdominal surgery also had signs of peritonitis, so they cleaned out that infection and left the wound open for a few days to prevent further infection. Notified Alex wouldn’t be discharged for at least a week from this latest surgery, to ensure no further infection and that his bowels were functioning properly.
· Alex could finally focus on recovery. They administered an epidural targeting his abdomen so that he could start to make progress again on physical therapy for his femur and pelvis, while his abdominal wound healed. This redirected the pain back to his legs. Pain management was a big focus over the next couple of days, but soon he was starting to feel better, less brain fog, and really encouraged to focus on healing and recovery.
· April 3rd, 2021 – Alex woke up the best he’d felt and PT even took him outside in a wheelchair so he could see Beatrice for the first time since the accident (visitors are extremely limited at the hospital). But a few hours later he started experiencing increased abdominal pain and extreme pressure yet again. A CT scan showed that he had an ileus, which is a blockage of the bowels causing the bowels to go into paralysis. They reinserted the NG tube to remove the fluid from his stomach because it was not pushing through, in order to clear the blockage and relieve pressure. This allowed the bowels to start functioning again over the course of a few days. Things continued to improve, Alex started sleeping better, he was able to start eating solid food and after a couple more days they were discussing potential discharge.
· April 9th, 2021 – Alex’s sleep declined again and he began to become more restless. Things quickly deteriorated over the next 48 hours, with increased agitation, decreased sleep, nausea, lack of appetite, hallucinations, blurred vision, and weird lucid out-of-body experiences. Turns out his sodium levels were declining and entered critical levels that were impacting his brain.
· April 12th, 2021 – Alex continued to have low sodium symptoms which was really scary. They transferred him to the ICU to administer saline to bring his sodium levels back up to normal. It is a long process because if brought up too quickly, it can cause the brain to swell. He was under ICU monitoring for 2 days. After about 24 hours of continued brain craziness, his sodium levels stabilized and his sane mental state returned. He was finally relaxed and calm. They attributed his decreased sodium to high ostomy output which continued, so they started taking measures to slow his ostomy production. They had to reinsert a PICC line for nutrition since he was again placed on a not-by-mouth diet.
· April 16th, 2021 – Alex’s ostomy started slowing, but he resumed vomiting again. Doctors couldn’t make sense of the situation. They thought it was related to over medication targeting the ostomy speed, so slowed medication with the hopes of resolving his symptoms. It continued to be a waiting game and we were not confident that it was this simple of an answer. Leah started pushing for a CT scan to ensure all was considered.
· April 18th, 2021 – An abdominal CT scan revealed that the abdominal abscess identified on March 27th has not been shrinking, despite the inserted drain, and was causing inflammation in his abdomen and likely causing the vomiting. Radiology will replace or relocate the drain, which will hopefully resolve the issue. It will take a few days to understand the impact of the procedure.
· April 20th – Today is day 33 in the hospital. Alex is still awaiting the abdominal drain replacement and a discharge date has not yet been determined. His wounds are healing well, but his bowels must be functioning before he can leave. Once discharged, he will likely return home for At-Home Care, then after his pelvis heals, start physical rehab. He is atrophying more and more each day.
· Other Details – With the abdominal surgery, no lifting for 6 weeks minimum, pending healing; Alex will be non-weight bearing on his left leg for minimum 3 months, at which point he will hopefully be able to apply body weight and start the process of walking again; 4-6 months down the road, Alex can go into another abdominal surgery to reverse the ileostomy, should he choose. That recovery period is unknown for that procedure.
About 10 years ago, I spent the time of my life chasing snow with one of the most fun, kind and intellectual people I know; my lifelong friend, Alex. Buddies from growing up in the same small town and working summers together at the golf course, we spent two years crisscrossing the country between Colorado, Massachusetts, and Utah. We drove hours and hours together talking about life, family, the universe, politics, and no less than 1,000 business ideas.
At the end of our journey, I settled for a “real job” and moved to Seattle. But what I always appreciated about Alex was that he kept chasing life in Park City. He was doing what he loved to do the most; making stylish turns down steep slopes!
In Park City, Alex developed new friendships, met Leah, got married, built a house, and had a child, building a life and family of his very own. What he doesn’t know is how much I continue to admire and respect him. I look back on our ski season in Park City as a moment of found perfection lost to youth. But Alex made that perfect season his entire life!
And that is what makes Alex's newest story so heartbreaking; life never allows for perfection. On Thursday, March 18, 2021, I received one of the worst messages from my beloved friend. The kind of message you dread from those who spend their winters on the mountain. Alex had a ski accident. A big one.
WHAT HAPPENED
Alex broke his right femur, shattered his left pelvis, and cracked two vertebrae above his tailbone after spinning out into the forest at high speed under the Tombstone lift at Park City Mountain Resort while trying to avoid a collision with another skier. As part of the rescue, the first responders had to cut down two trees that he was wedged between. Fortunately, he was alive! But his injuries were severe and he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, preparing for emergency surgery the next morning.
Since surgery, Alex has endured countless complications and setbacks in his recovery, including a perforated bowel, twisted colon, the start of an abscess, bowel blockage/paralysis, dangerously low sodium, all of which resulted in two additional surgeries, 48 hours in the ICU, lack of sleep, intense pain, nausea, no appetite, hallucinations, blurred vision, agitation, anxiety and more (he was even forced to cut his flowing hair!). As of 4/20/21, he's been in the hospital for 33 days. Leah and Alex's parents have been trading shifts to be by his side and also care for sweet Beatrice. Words and stories can't even begin to explain; not to mention that Leah is 20+ weeks pregnant!
Below is a full report (and more photos!) about Alex's accident, surgeries, challenging path towards stabilization and still-pending discharge from the hospital. I encourage you to read the full sequence of events so you can best understand the long road ahead towards recovery. Alex, Leah, Beatrice, Baby #2, Alex's parents, Leah's parents, and the rest of their loved ones need as much support as we can give.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
In response to everyone's requests, this Go Fund Me campaign is the most efficient and impactful opportunity to help Alex and Leah. The goal is to provide financial relief so their family can focus on recovery together. Your donations will go towards Alex's surgeries, his hospital stay, physical therapy, at-home medical care, home improvements for Alex's immobility, future medical bills including another potential surgery, and all the other expected incidentals (childcare, meals, housework, yard work, etc.).
Whether you know him as Alex or Gary; from Northboro or Lemoyne; from Massachusetts or Utah; we ask for your love and help now and will be forever thankful for your generosity. We all want to see Alex get back on his feet and doing what he loves the most; spending time with his beautiful wife, playing with his precious daughter, welcoming his newborn baby, and skiing.
TAKE ACTION
Please Donate. Please share this link. Please Pray. Please continue to send Alex and Leah your loving messages. And please take the time to hug your loved ones a little more often as life is truly precious. God bless.
NOTE: We want to raise as much as possible and even more than the $10,000 campaign goal. As you consider a donation, please know that one generous family committed to giving an additional $5,000 as soon as the $10,000 goal is met. Also, Alex and Leah plan to donate and pay forward any unused funds.
· March 18th, 2021 – Alex was in a ski accident by the Tombstone lift at The Canyons side of Park City Mountain. A small kid popped out from behind a slow sign as Alex was approaching. In order to avoid a collision, Alex made a quick maneuver, caught a ski edge and tumbled into some trees. Ski patrol was there within minutes, brought him off the mountain, and an ambulance rushed him to the University of Utah hospital. Imaging revealed Alex broke his right femur and left pelvis from the impact (several weeks later they confirmed that Alex also cracked to vertebrae above his tailbone).
· March 19th, 2021 – Alex had an 8-hour ortho surgery to repair his femur and pelvis. I don’t know the quantity, but a rod and a gazillion screws were placed in the femur and several plates, screws and pins to repair the pelvis. The surgery was successful and we were anticipating to be discharged from the hospital in 2 – 3 days, with 2 weeks of no weight bearing on the right leg and 3 months of no weight bearing on the left leg. Alex would require a wheelchair.
· Alex started having abdominal pain within a day or so after the surgery, which isn’t uncommon from gas build-up after surgery. But after 36 hours of intense pain and applying non-surgical measures that were not improving it, a CT scan identified that he had a perforated bowel.
· March 22nd, 2021 – Alex had emergency intestinal surgery to explore the perforation. It was concluded that a cecum volvulus (twisting of the colon) caused part of the cecum to be necrotic (dead or dying) and perforate, so they had to remove part of the cecum (part of the colon) and create an ileostomy. Notified Alex wouldn’t be discharged for at least a week, as his bowels need to wake up and show signs of function.
· Things improved for Alex for a couple of days, but soon he started to again have a lot of abdominal pain. His increased white blood cell count, temperature, redness around his abdomen and wounds, bloating and pain to the touch were indicative of an infection.
· March 27th, 2021 – Alex underwent a second intestinal surgery to explore the infection. They located quite a bit of puss in the abdominal cavity that was indicative of the start of an abscess. They cleaned out the puss and added a drain. The abdominal wound from the first abdominal surgery also had signs of peritonitis, so they cleaned out that infection and left the wound open for a few days to prevent further infection. Notified Alex wouldn’t be discharged for at least a week from this latest surgery, to ensure no further infection and that his bowels were functioning properly.
· Alex could finally focus on recovery. They administered an epidural targeting his abdomen so that he could start to make progress again on physical therapy for his femur and pelvis, while his abdominal wound healed. This redirected the pain back to his legs. Pain management was a big focus over the next couple of days, but soon he was starting to feel better, less brain fog, and really encouraged to focus on healing and recovery.
· April 3rd, 2021 – Alex woke up the best he’d felt and PT even took him outside in a wheelchair so he could see Beatrice for the first time since the accident (visitors are extremely limited at the hospital). But a few hours later he started experiencing increased abdominal pain and extreme pressure yet again. A CT scan showed that he had an ileus, which is a blockage of the bowels causing the bowels to go into paralysis. They reinserted the NG tube to remove the fluid from his stomach because it was not pushing through, in order to clear the blockage and relieve pressure. This allowed the bowels to start functioning again over the course of a few days. Things continued to improve, Alex started sleeping better, he was able to start eating solid food and after a couple more days they were discussing potential discharge.
· April 9th, 2021 – Alex’s sleep declined again and he began to become more restless. Things quickly deteriorated over the next 48 hours, with increased agitation, decreased sleep, nausea, lack of appetite, hallucinations, blurred vision, and weird lucid out-of-body experiences. Turns out his sodium levels were declining and entered critical levels that were impacting his brain.
· April 12th, 2021 – Alex continued to have low sodium symptoms which was really scary. They transferred him to the ICU to administer saline to bring his sodium levels back up to normal. It is a long process because if brought up too quickly, it can cause the brain to swell. He was under ICU monitoring for 2 days. After about 24 hours of continued brain craziness, his sodium levels stabilized and his sane mental state returned. He was finally relaxed and calm. They attributed his decreased sodium to high ostomy output which continued, so they started taking measures to slow his ostomy production. They had to reinsert a PICC line for nutrition since he was again placed on a not-by-mouth diet.
· April 16th, 2021 – Alex’s ostomy started slowing, but he resumed vomiting again. Doctors couldn’t make sense of the situation. They thought it was related to over medication targeting the ostomy speed, so slowed medication with the hopes of resolving his symptoms. It continued to be a waiting game and we were not confident that it was this simple of an answer. Leah started pushing for a CT scan to ensure all was considered.
· April 18th, 2021 – An abdominal CT scan revealed that the abdominal abscess identified on March 27th has not been shrinking, despite the inserted drain, and was causing inflammation in his abdomen and likely causing the vomiting. Radiology will replace or relocate the drain, which will hopefully resolve the issue. It will take a few days to understand the impact of the procedure.
· April 20th – Today is day 33 in the hospital. Alex is still awaiting the abdominal drain replacement and a discharge date has not yet been determined. His wounds are healing well, but his bowels must be functioning before he can leave. Once discharged, he will likely return home for At-Home Care, then after his pelvis heals, start physical rehab. He is atrophying more and more each day.
· Other Details – With the abdominal surgery, no lifting for 6 weeks minimum, pending healing; Alex will be non-weight bearing on his left leg for minimum 3 months, at which point he will hopefully be able to apply body weight and start the process of walking again; 4-6 months down the road, Alex can go into another abdominal surgery to reverse the ileostomy, should he choose. That recovery period is unknown for that procedure.