Support Our Dad's Fight Against Spinal Infection

As some of you may or may not know mine and my 4 siblings lives suddenly changed almost 2 years ago. Our rock, our father went into the emergency room with back pain (which he dealt with chronic pain for many years & he was getting back and hip injections previously). While in the E. R. he was given a multitude of pain medications to basically “calm him down” and then sent home. Not even 24hrs passed & he was back in the emergency room, looking worse then the previous day & was very disoriented. When we asked why he was sent home- the doctor stated “back pain was not enough to keep him” They began a multitude of tests while in the E. R. and administered MORE “pain meds” Almost 14hrs in the E.R. the doctors decided to admit him. While overnight, seeing the damage that was being done they tried to reverse by administering Narcan 4 times. When my sister arrived early the next morning, my father could barely recognize her & was slurring his words. Within minutes they decided to move him to ICU & due to everything that was transpiring his breathing had become labored and the decision was made to intubate him to “protect his airway” and give his body rest to recover.

After days of being sedated, he finally woke up to only having feeling & movement of his thumbs and thumb toes. While on the ventilator for weeks the decision was made to be moved to Westchester medical center as they had a neuro ICU and all of the tests they had ran determined he had a spinal infection and Garnet was not capable of handling what was needed. Within 8hrs of being at WMC he had to undergo 3 emergency spinal surgeries back to back. This was one of the hardest decisions for us kids to make without him, but they said it was his best chance to live. He had laminectomy and fusion at the top and middle of his spine and a spinal washout at the bottom because it was confirmed he had osteomyelitis from an injection he had previously got and his spinal cord was turning to mush. His body suffered tremendous wounds you couldn’t even imagine. He also went through a tracheotomy which thankfully he is fully recovered from. Our father has spent since April 2023 between rehabs and hospitals (it has been 7 now). The 5 of us weren’t sure we would ever hear his voice again, we were unsure of what the future would look like. He has not gained function of his legs, has limited movement on his most dominant side- which was his right- it can raise up to his stomach & gradual movement in the hand, he has almost complete movement on his left side in the arm, however his left hand is contracted in a fist shape. With all that has taken place over the last 2yrs, Thankfully we are at a point now, where medically he is stable enough to start the transition to home which would be my house. Our hopes are for him to continue to recover and now focus on locating a spine specialist/outpatient rehab here in Connecticut. The hardest thing is our dad did everything- he drove, walked, ran, he loved doing household chores and everything/anything that needed to be done in his home. We are needing assistance in things that insurance is not going to cover in order to make this transition as seamless as possible. We would need a wheelchair accessible vehicle to assist us in the transport day to day, and any appointments he may need. We want to get back to an “as normal” lifestyle as we can give him. As well as any home modifications we may need to make.

Our father has always given all he could no questions asked. Those who know him, then you know he would literally give the shirt off his back for quite literally anyone, especially the people he cares about. Please consider donating so that our father of 5, Navy veteran and grandfather of 3 can enjoy his time with those he loves most His Family

We appreciate you taking the time to read this. It's been rough but we're strong and trusting in the powers above.