Chris Springer Medical Bills

Hi Everyone! My friend Chris has been fighting for his life and recovering from multiple major open-heart surgeries and other life-threatening complications since 2020 (the whole story is below). With Chris unable to work and his wife Rachel taking months off of work to be by his side, they need our help! The medical bills are starting to pile up, and once released from the hospital, he will need ongoing medical assistance (i.e., In-home nurse, wheelchairs, physical therapy etc.). Many of you have been asking the family if they need anything, and now they do more than ever. Any financial donation or assistance would be greatly appreciated to help relieve the burden of medical bills as they try to get back on their feet and be together as a family again.

Here is the full story:

In November 2020, Chris was unexpectedly diagnosed with a dissected aorta. Chris had emergency open-heart surgery and recovered, but the worst was not behind him.

A year later, Chris and his family moved back to California after recovering from aorta surgery. Chris made an appointment with a new cardiologist and proceeded to do some routine scans. Shockingly, the cardiologist indicated that another part of his aorta was dissecting, and he needed to undergo another major heart surgery.

The 1st anniversary of his prior heart surgery had just passed when Chris underwent his 2nd heart surgery in November 2021. The surgeons performed a 13-hour procedure to replace his abdominal aorta before it ruptured. The surgery was a success, and Chris was discharged. Two days later, everything took a turn for the worst. Chris was rushed to the Emergency room and admitted with Sepsis Pneumonia and high irregular arrhythmias. Three days later, Chris coded and was down for 2 minutes. That moment was only the beginning of the ‘close calls’ that were to come.

In December, we sat by and prayed as Chris was put into a medically induced coma for the next four weeks. He was intubated and 100% reliant on a ventilator; he had kidney failure (needing dialysis 24/7); he underwent a 3rd emergency heart surgery (where his chest was left open for days to avoid pressure on the heart); he coded once more, and he was eventually hooked up to an Echmo machine (to keep his heart and lungs functioning properly). He had many other procedures and trips to the operating room, i.e., getting a tracheotomy, but Chris held on and kept fighting!

After the New Year, Chris started to shift in the right direction. Finally, he was taken off Echmo support and sedation after what felt like forever. We were ready for this nightmare to be over.

It took a few days to fully wake up from the sedation (which we were told was expected), but he coded once more. After he finally woke up from the sedation, Chris could not move or talk. The doctors took him to have a head CT, which showed that Chris had a massive brain bleed on the right side. It was determined that Chris had suffered a stroke, and it went undetected until the CT scan was done.

The Neurologist did not recommend surgery, and he said based on the look of the scans, nothing good would come from surgery. In fact, he is quoted saying, “I don’t know what to tell you.”

Rachel recalled the days leading to Chris being intubated. Chris made it known that he would fight to get home to them, to get home to his son. Rachel knew what she had to do. Rachel told the Neurologist that Chris would want this fighting chance and proceed with the brain surgery.

After the surgery was completed, they were given more daunting news. There was more damage than had been shown on the scans, and the doctors could not provide a prognosis on what the future holds for Chris. A nurse advised that they usually use a 1/3 rule: 1/3 of people die, 1/3 of people recover, and 1/3 have to wait & see. Chris was labeled “wait & see.”

The days passed slowly, but Chris started answering questions by blinking his eyes. He began to turn his head and eventually had the slightest movement with his right hand. The doctors were still unsure of a prognosis.

Flash forward to April 2022, with Chris’s fighting drive to get home to his son, he is be able to talk, stand and even take a few steps. He no longer needs dialysis and had the Trach removed. He will need another surgery in the near future, but after six months of being in the hospital fighting for his life, we are hopeful that he will be released soon!