Medical bills for Cam
Donation protected
Hi friends and family!
As you all know, in April of 2016 Cameron broke his hip in a bike accident, and had a emergency surgery at 2 am at SFGH. He had 3 screws placed in his hip, and then worked on healing. A 23 year old breaking his hip was sort of an anomaly- but we all figured, “hey you’re young, you’ll beat this thing.”
He was in a wheelchair for a few months, then crutches, then on his really cool cane he bought online.
In April of 2017 Cam had another surgery at St. Luke’s in SF to remove the screws after they weren’t healing correctly, and he had a big bolt and plate put in instead. He healed from that surgery for another few months - weekly physical therapy, more canes from online, he played a show with 16 staples in his hip (the band counted backstage), and after a few months we thought he was good to go!
Fast forward to Fall of 2017. Cam was in a lot of pain and struggled doing things we take for granted every day. Getting in and out of a car, walking to the kitchen from the living room after simply forgetting something, working in his office, and playing guitar.
Last month, Cam had surgery #3 to remove a TON of bone spurs that grew around his injured bone - preventing him from walking, laying, or sitting normally. He needed to see a special team at UCSF after he couldn’t get the care he needed at General Hospital or St. Luke’s. The team at UCSF treated us so well - they shaved off the bone spurs, removed a lot of damaged cartilage inside his hip, and even gave us a few extra Ginger Ales for the road after surgery.
We all know Cam is a rockstar. He wrote a new album while recovering from surgery #1, recorded a full set of demos in bed after healing from surgery #2, and learned a new instrument while healing from surgery #3 in February (synth/keyboard). One of my favorite things about him is how he doesn’t let anything get him down. Back in 2016 he was cracking jokes in the ER, and had charmed the whole Saturday night staff at SFGH. I remember putting on a full face of makeup everyday to visit him for a week, so the nurses wouldn’t try anything. Of course I was the one crying it all off, and Cam was sitting there trying to convince his coworkers to bring him In N Out to his hospital room.
We don’t love asking for help - no one really does, but I know we have the best friends and family on the planet.
We are planning a wedding party this year, and between student loans and medical debt from the past 2 surgeries, we’re stuck. We don’t want our credit to tank, and we don’t want to be in debt. We won’t be able to move apartments, buy a new car, or even get a small loan. Cam’s total medical cost is more than $2,000 - that’s also before the costs of future weekly physical therapy and checkup appointments (not fully covered by insurance - and who knew X-RAYS were so expensive), but I figured this amount would be realistic, and can put a big dent in the total.
If you decide to donate, include a fun memory of yours with Cam, or just something you love about him.
I’ll start - Cam calling me from the ambulance on April 16, 2016. He started telling me he had fallen on a ride with our friends Jake and Emily, and he felt his hip needed to be “popped back in”, but the EMT’s had a Grateful Dead sticker on their van... so cool, right?
As you all know, in April of 2016 Cameron broke his hip in a bike accident, and had a emergency surgery at 2 am at SFGH. He had 3 screws placed in his hip, and then worked on healing. A 23 year old breaking his hip was sort of an anomaly- but we all figured, “hey you’re young, you’ll beat this thing.”
He was in a wheelchair for a few months, then crutches, then on his really cool cane he bought online.
In April of 2017 Cam had another surgery at St. Luke’s in SF to remove the screws after they weren’t healing correctly, and he had a big bolt and plate put in instead. He healed from that surgery for another few months - weekly physical therapy, more canes from online, he played a show with 16 staples in his hip (the band counted backstage), and after a few months we thought he was good to go!
Fast forward to Fall of 2017. Cam was in a lot of pain and struggled doing things we take for granted every day. Getting in and out of a car, walking to the kitchen from the living room after simply forgetting something, working in his office, and playing guitar.
Last month, Cam had surgery #3 to remove a TON of bone spurs that grew around his injured bone - preventing him from walking, laying, or sitting normally. He needed to see a special team at UCSF after he couldn’t get the care he needed at General Hospital or St. Luke’s. The team at UCSF treated us so well - they shaved off the bone spurs, removed a lot of damaged cartilage inside his hip, and even gave us a few extra Ginger Ales for the road after surgery.
We all know Cam is a rockstar. He wrote a new album while recovering from surgery #1, recorded a full set of demos in bed after healing from surgery #2, and learned a new instrument while healing from surgery #3 in February (synth/keyboard). One of my favorite things about him is how he doesn’t let anything get him down. Back in 2016 he was cracking jokes in the ER, and had charmed the whole Saturday night staff at SFGH. I remember putting on a full face of makeup everyday to visit him for a week, so the nurses wouldn’t try anything. Of course I was the one crying it all off, and Cam was sitting there trying to convince his coworkers to bring him In N Out to his hospital room.
We don’t love asking for help - no one really does, but I know we have the best friends and family on the planet.
We are planning a wedding party this year, and between student loans and medical debt from the past 2 surgeries, we’re stuck. We don’t want our credit to tank, and we don’t want to be in debt. We won’t be able to move apartments, buy a new car, or even get a small loan. Cam’s total medical cost is more than $2,000 - that’s also before the costs of future weekly physical therapy and checkup appointments (not fully covered by insurance - and who knew X-RAYS were so expensive), but I figured this amount would be realistic, and can put a big dent in the total.
If you decide to donate, include a fun memory of yours with Cam, or just something you love about him.
I’ll start - Cam calling me from the ambulance on April 16, 2016. He started telling me he had fallen on a ride with our friends Jake and Emily, and he felt his hip needed to be “popped back in”, but the EMT’s had a Grateful Dead sticker on their van... so cool, right?
Organizer
Kate O'Brien
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
