Ben's Medical Journey

On August 19th, just one day after turning 39 years old, my Nephew and Godson, Ben Speiser, suffered an aortic aneurysm while on our family reunion vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The last few days have been dramatic and surreal as this has absolutely stunned our entire family.

Prior to his emergency surgery, the surgeon braced his family that he had a 50/50 chance of surviving the surgery. After a very long, 10 hour surgery, Ben pulled through. His talented medical team has called it "miraculous" as the damage to his aorta was severe.

Ben has lived in NYC since 2005. He was working remotely from his parent's home in Minnesota, since July 2020, due to COVID-19 and, like most New Yorkers, avoiding the craziness of city. However, he was planning on flying back to NYC on Sunday, August 22nd. To say this was "divine intervention" is an understatement. Better Angels were with us on August 19th. If this had occured on a plane, at 30,000 feet in the air, most assuredly, we would not have had the same outcome! God is Good .... all the time.

Ben is in ICU at Monument Hospital in Rapid City. He is, by no means, 'out of the woods'--he has a long road to recovery and he won't be returning to NYC any time soon.

Rapid City, is 8 hours away from his parent's home in Minnesota. They are with him now and it's looking like he'll be in Rapid City for a week or until he becomes more stabilized to withstand going home or transferring to another hospital that is closer to home.

His long-term healthcare is unknown at this time but it will involve many tests and trips for medical care and cardiac rehabilitation once he is back in Minnesota working on full recovery.

I'm starting this fund-raiser to help Ben with his medical and travel expenses for him and his family as they help him navigate to the many Dr. visits that are in his foreseeable future. Most likely it will involve traveling 3 hours from their home and require overnight stays.

I know Ben and his family have been generous in helping others and paying it forward. They would never ask for themselves, so I am asking in raising these funds in hopes that it will help ease some of the fear, stress and overwhelming unknowns as Ben begins this unexpected journey to recovery to full health.

Thank you for your consideration in donating. Your generosity will mean the world to Ben and his family. God Bless!