Help the Hill Family Fund!
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For those of you that know this special family, their situation is even more challenging as they have a permanently disabled son, Joshua. While they need our love, support and prayers, they also need some assistance financially. Please consider a donation if you are able and to share their story.
David and Bernie’s Story:
On April 11, 2015, David was involved in a car accident. He was taken to a trauma center and was diagnosed with a spinal injury. Initially, he was able to move his arms and legs, but was too weak to stand on his own. David had a narrowing of the spinal column that houses the spinal cord. Since there wasn't a lot of room, the spine hit the bones and for lack of a better way to describe this, he bruised his spinal cord. He lost the fine motor skills in both his hands, but was told that things looked good and he should improve with extensive physical therapy. A neurosurgeon discussed surgery to try and repair the damage and David elected to move forward with the surgery. David came through the surgery great. He was even managing to get a grilled cheese sandwich in his hand and feed himself. It was a positive step. The next day he was in a great deal of pain. He was told that was normal (nerve pain in the hands and pain in the neck from the surgery). Friday he was in even more pain, but was transferred to a medical rehab facility. They made the move and got him comfortable. He was a trooper. He was in pain, but was pushing through to do the therapy. Sunday he was tired and was heavily medicated and rested a lot. On Monday, it was difficult for him to move his legs and arms. He had lost some of his strength.
On Monday night Bernie got a very disturbing call (he had the nurse call her). He said he could not feel his legs and the pain was unbearable. The medical team wanted to send him for an MRI, but he was getting anxious and they gave him some meds to calm him down. Unfortunately his blood pressure went too high. He was also gasping for a breath and to make things worse, he couldn't move his arm or legs at all. David was quickly moved to another floor where they put him on a Bi-Pap machine to help him breath (similar to what people wear for sleep apnea). He did ok for a little while, but it soon became an emergency situation and we were moved the ICU. David was intubated and put on a ventilator.
Long story short…things were getting worse.
The hospital David was at doesn't have its own MRI machine. Patients need to be transported by ambulance for an MRI. The neurologists at the first hospital were requesting an MRI to find out why he had lost movement, but they couldn't get one because he wasn't stable enough to transport. He was running a fever and had developed pneumonia. Finally on Friday (4/17) he was stable enough to be transported. The MRI was done and David was told he needed to be transported back to the original hospital and have immediate surgery.
The next conversation was very difficult. The neurosurgeon had multiple doctor’s look at the scan and she showed Bernie that there was a mass of fluid that was pushing against his spinal cord. Unfortunately the combination of that fluid, his blood pressure issues and his poor oxygenation for the past two weeks had created the perfect storm.
The doctor informed David and Bernie that his prognosis was C3 complete quadriplegia and he may not come off the ventilator. This was a huge blow to all of us.
A tracheostomy and Gastro Intestinal tube for feeding were inserted. For those of you who know their family, you know they are very familiar with both of these since their son had a trach for the first 9 years of his life and still has a g-tube.
Many people are asking how they can help. This is going to be a marathon and they will need that support for a long time.
Thank you to everyone for their love, prayers and support. David, Bernie, Amber, and Josh really appreciate it.
David and Bernie’s Story:
On April 11, 2015, David was involved in a car accident. He was taken to a trauma center and was diagnosed with a spinal injury. Initially, he was able to move his arms and legs, but was too weak to stand on his own. David had a narrowing of the spinal column that houses the spinal cord. Since there wasn't a lot of room, the spine hit the bones and for lack of a better way to describe this, he bruised his spinal cord. He lost the fine motor skills in both his hands, but was told that things looked good and he should improve with extensive physical therapy. A neurosurgeon discussed surgery to try and repair the damage and David elected to move forward with the surgery. David came through the surgery great. He was even managing to get a grilled cheese sandwich in his hand and feed himself. It was a positive step. The next day he was in a great deal of pain. He was told that was normal (nerve pain in the hands and pain in the neck from the surgery). Friday he was in even more pain, but was transferred to a medical rehab facility. They made the move and got him comfortable. He was a trooper. He was in pain, but was pushing through to do the therapy. Sunday he was tired and was heavily medicated and rested a lot. On Monday, it was difficult for him to move his legs and arms. He had lost some of his strength.
On Monday night Bernie got a very disturbing call (he had the nurse call her). He said he could not feel his legs and the pain was unbearable. The medical team wanted to send him for an MRI, but he was getting anxious and they gave him some meds to calm him down. Unfortunately his blood pressure went too high. He was also gasping for a breath and to make things worse, he couldn't move his arm or legs at all. David was quickly moved to another floor where they put him on a Bi-Pap machine to help him breath (similar to what people wear for sleep apnea). He did ok for a little while, but it soon became an emergency situation and we were moved the ICU. David was intubated and put on a ventilator.
Long story short…things were getting worse.
The hospital David was at doesn't have its own MRI machine. Patients need to be transported by ambulance for an MRI. The neurologists at the first hospital were requesting an MRI to find out why he had lost movement, but they couldn't get one because he wasn't stable enough to transport. He was running a fever and had developed pneumonia. Finally on Friday (4/17) he was stable enough to be transported. The MRI was done and David was told he needed to be transported back to the original hospital and have immediate surgery.
The next conversation was very difficult. The neurosurgeon had multiple doctor’s look at the scan and she showed Bernie that there was a mass of fluid that was pushing against his spinal cord. Unfortunately the combination of that fluid, his blood pressure issues and his poor oxygenation for the past two weeks had created the perfect storm.
The doctor informed David and Bernie that his prognosis was C3 complete quadriplegia and he may not come off the ventilator. This was a huge blow to all of us.
A tracheostomy and Gastro Intestinal tube for feeding were inserted. For those of you who know their family, you know they are very familiar with both of these since their son had a trach for the first 9 years of his life and still has a g-tube.
Many people are asking how they can help. This is going to be a marathon and they will need that support for a long time.
Thank you to everyone for their love, prayers and support. David, Bernie, Amber, and Josh really appreciate it.
Organizer and beneficiary
Bernie Hill
Organizer
Tracy, CA
Bernie Hill
Beneficiary