Bobby Watkins fight Guillain-Barre syndrome

Hello, my name is Alex, and I am starting a GoFundMe for my dad, Bobby Watkins, who has been suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome for nine months and needs help to pay his continuously rising medical bills.

My dad was taken to the ER back in April of 2022 because he had trouble standing up without getting dizzy and falling. The first doctor told us that it might have something to do with his heart, so they transferred him that same day to Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, via medevac, which is over an hour's drive from our small town. They ran multiple tests on him, and a week later, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Unfortunately, his condition only went downhill from thereon.

At this time, he already could not move his arms and legs, struggled to talk, and had difficulty breathing. They had to do a tracheostomy (which creates an opening at the front of the neck to insert a tube into the windpipe) to help him breathe. The doctors tried multiple treatments, like blood transfusion, which did not help improve his condition. After 15 days, he was sent to Landmark Hospital in the same city to start rehab and help get him to breathe on his own again so they could remove the tube in his throat, but that was also unsuccessful. After a month, they sent him to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis (almost a two-hour drive) to receive a plasma treatment and a second opinion. Unfortunately, when he arrived, the hospital did not know he was supposed to receive the treatment and informed us that it would be a six-month wait. The hospital ran the same tests and did not discover anything new that we did not know about, so he was sent back to Landmark hospital after 15 days. My dad stayed there for another month, but still no improvements. For us to take him home, we had to receive training and get certified to care for his breathing tube.

Since July, we have taken care of him at home for five months, and his condition has barely improved. Since then, he has gone back and forth from the hospital twice, both in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The recent visit to the hospital was on December 16, 2022, due to his left lung collapsing, and he had to stay there until December 31. My dad is still paralyzed and still needs his breathing tube. He uses an eye gaze computer to communicate with us, and from time to time, he lets us know that it is hard to breathe. We don't know how to help him feel comfortable and make it less painful.

The medical bills have kept rising and will only continue to increase because he still has a long way to go in recovery. It has been an awful long time since we saw him in good shape and heard his voice. This has been a painful experience for my family, especially my dad. Many special dates have passed, like my parents' anniversary, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, that we couldn't celebrate wholeheartedly.

My dad is a hardworking man and has always been the sole provider of our family. He is a member of the Rotary Club and served in the Army National Guard for eight years. He was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce until 2021. He always believes in giving back to the community with whatever he can do, like coaching the kids' basketball and baseball teams.

We hope to receive some amount to help pay his medical bills. Everything is so expensive that one trip to the hospital costs over $140,000, and we are struggling to pay his medical bills. Your donation will help my dad with his long journey to recovery. Any amount is greatly appreciated!