Air Ambulance from Florida to Georgia

My name is Benjamin Murray and I am 88 years old. I am currently in a hospital in Orlando, FL, but I need to be moved to a long term care facility in Georgia, as I was in the process of relocating before I took ill.  

I live with my wife of 60 years, Dorothy Rush Murray and my daughter, Bernice Archie.  Bernice recently moved to Florida to help take care of me and my wife and coordinate our move to Georgia.  Unfortunately, in October 2018, I had two mini-strokes, which landed me in a rehabilitation center.  I was getting better and doing therapy, plus I was happy that my son, Benson, came down from New York to see me and help out his sister and mother.  On October 19th, I said goodbye to my son, while I was sitting up in a wheelchair. The very next day, I was rushed to the emergency room because my oxygen level had unexpectedly dropped to almost 30%!  It turns out that while I was in rehab, recovering from the stroke, I developed blood clots in my lower abdomen, ­­­which traveled to both of my lungs. I had also developed a blockage in my lower intestine which was causing me severe pain.  I have been hospitalized several times ever since.

I was in so much pain. The doctors said the only way to relive the pain was surgery.  My wife and I immediately replied no surgery. My children thought I should have the surgery, but they respected my wishes and came to accept that there was nothing more they could do. It got really bad, all I wanted was for the pain to go away.  I couldn’t stay in the hospital on a morphine drip indefinitely, so my family talked it over and we decided to put me in hospice care instead of having the high risk surgery which we all thought might end my life. However, when the people from hospice came to take me away later that night, my daughter and son, Benson, turned them away and said NO! They had talked it over with each other and with God. They prayed about it and asked for guidance. They wanted to give me a chance to live, and that is what they did. By the grace of God, the doctors put me under, performed the surgery, and my life was spared.  At my age, and with my other ailments such a prostate cancer, leukemia, diabetes, loss of mobility and a series of strokes, you might wonder how I survived. With faith, hope and God on my side, I couldn’t lose.

I was on life support for almost a week after the surgery. That was a long week for my family to endure, not knowing whether or not I would come back fully after being under anesthesia.  Well I did.  We prayed and celebrated and looked forward to the time when I would be able to come home. Once I was moved out of ICU, my family had to find a long term acute care hospital to transfer me to, so I continued to recover and get strong enough to go home.

I went to the long term acute care hospital, but while I was there my recovery soon became diminished and I had to be transferred back to the hospital from which I came. This unexpected turn of events has left me even weaker. It has also delayed our move to Atlanta, and it has now become extremely difficult for me to travel by car. There is now a sense of urgency because my daughter needs to get to Atlanta for work, but she will not leave without us. She and my wife have stayed with me around the clock since I originally left the hospital; my son has been back several times to help watch over me too and they have found someone to come and relieve my daughter, so she can get some rest. God and my family are the major reason for the hope that I have of recuperating quickly, but I am worried that my illness is causing stress on my family.

I need to move to Atlanta as soon as possible, and I can only get there by medical airplane. There is a company called Angel MedFlight (https://www.angelmedflight.com/ ), but the cost is $13,600 to take me from Florida to Georgia.  Unfortunately, we do not have $13,600 for the transport, so I am asking for your help.  Benson will make sure that the funds raised go directly to Angel MedFlight, and any other medical costs associated with it.   My daughter has already found a long term acute care hospital in the Atlanta area, so all I have to do is get there. The people from Angel MedFlight will take me from my current hospital bed in Orlando to the new hospital bed in Georgia.

Those of you who know me, know that I would never ask anyone for anything unless I had no other recourse. I am a retired SLED officer from South Carolina and I am accustomed to getting things done, no matter what it takes to do it. Well, right now, I am doing something I never thought I would be doing in a million years, and I am asking for your help.  Please help me raise the $13,600 I need to take the Angel MedFlight before the end of 2018. 

Thank you for your consideration and God bless you all!

Benjamin Murray