Medical Bills
Donation protected
My beloved husband and father of two, Matt Morris, was viciously attacked on August 2, 2014. We had just moved to a new town and the locals didn't take kindly to a city kid in a country town. It was one man at the pub and grill in Loda, IL. He followed Matt as he was leaving to go home that night in the parking lot. He told him that he was teaching him a lesson for showing his face where he isn't welcome. The man starting swinging on my husband and Matt was knocked unconscious. When Matt came to, he was on the ground being kicked repeated in the ribs, head, chest arm... basically all over. There was a crowd gathered around watching. Nobody tried to pull the guy off of Matt, and in fact, many laughed and cheered him on. The whole time, Matt was begging him to stop and asking him over and over, why was he doing this to him.
After the guy got tired of beating Matt up and walked away, there was still a crowd around him and Matt begged for someone to call an ambulance because he felt his arm was broken. It just hung there when he stood up. Nobody even pulled out their phone. They all went inside slowly, saying things like "don't come back" and "don't show your face in here again." Matt walked home with his arm hanging and called the ambulance.
The police were called and talked to our friend Randy who was at the house. The police didn't even try contacting Matt while he was in the hospital. I was out of town finishing some moving and had no idea until he called me in tears. He said that the ambulance was on its way and he was pretty sure his arm was broken.
The ambulance rushed him to a hospital in Gibson City, which is where I went to go see him. The doctor there x-rayed his arm and said that is was broken in many different places. The doctor said that the bones were shattered and he was not confident enough to perform the surgery needed for it, and transferred Matt to the hospital in Urbana. They tried to get his pain under control until the doctor came and looked at his arm in the morning. That morning, another surgeon turned down performing the surgery because the damage was so extensive.
Matt was attacked on a Saturday night at around 10pm and it wasn't until Monday, around 8am that they found a surgeon who was willing to go in there and try to fix it. During surgery, the surgeon who took on the job, discovered that it was even worse when he got inside than the x-rays even let on. Another bone in the arm had to be broken to fix some of the other broken/fractured bones. Matt was told he will never be able to play guitar again, which is Matt's absolute passion in life. He's been playing for over 15 years and was currently working on several collaborative projects with other musicians to produce potential albums. He's been told that he should get about 30% range of usage of his left arm and hand back, if he gets started on his physical therapy as soon as possible.
Matt has been denied short term disability due to lack of opting in for certain benefits during a two week window last year. His job is being held for him, as he's been a valuable asset to his employer for the last few years. We have no savings and he has no income coming in. I'm doing my best to support the house bills and kids on my income, but I absolutely cannot cover any of the medical expenses as well as Matt's car payment and other necessary bills along those lines. Matt inquired with his bank about a possible deferment with his car loan payments and was denied.
The surgeon has made it very, very clear that Matt needs a special O.M.N.I. brace for his arm that will allow him to begin physical therapy as soon as possible. The brace alone costs well over $500 and there is no way we can scrape up any money to cover that cost. We've exhausted and continue to exhaust every possible resource as for getting funding/assistance/aide for these costs. The paper trail is a long process and its already been a whole week since the doctor wanted Matt to be in that brace and receiving the critically necessary physcial therapy. The longer Matt is unable to start the therapy, which is another expense that we have no idea how to cover, the more likely his arm is going to be less than 30% functional for the rest of his life.
This has been life changing. His career is in jeopardy as he needs the use of both hands to perform his job. The medical costs have already exceeded well over $50,000 and they continue to stack and pile up. The ambulance alone just to Gibson City, was billed at $5000. He also was sent in another ambulance over to Carle Hospital in Urbana. The reason why we've set the goal so low, is because we are hoping and praying that some of the red tape we've been drudging through, as we've been pursuing federal/state assistance, local agencies and organizations, will hopefully come through for us. Also we didn't want to deter any small donations as ANYTHING will help. Even simple things like groceries and household items are becoming extremely challenging to afford. OMG, gas money. Period. Its draining me. Matt spent the remaining amount of his last check, before his medical leave, covering prescriptions, which are all out of pocket expenses. Even applying for state funded assistance, they're looking at last years annual gross income, as if my husband still has income. My husband's doctor told him that even with the proper physical therapy, the soonest he could hope to return to work is still over a month away.
My husband is very hard working and dedicated family man. We've been married for 13 years now, with a 9 year old son on the honor roll as well as our daughter who is 12 years old and in gifted classes. This has been devastating to us. It's impacted every aspect of our daily lives. Like I said, absolutely any donation will help us. Big or small. If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading this and hearing our story.
-Elizabeth Marsack Morris
The attached picture is an x-ray of his arm post-surgery.
After the guy got tired of beating Matt up and walked away, there was still a crowd around him and Matt begged for someone to call an ambulance because he felt his arm was broken. It just hung there when he stood up. Nobody even pulled out their phone. They all went inside slowly, saying things like "don't come back" and "don't show your face in here again." Matt walked home with his arm hanging and called the ambulance.
The police were called and talked to our friend Randy who was at the house. The police didn't even try contacting Matt while he was in the hospital. I was out of town finishing some moving and had no idea until he called me in tears. He said that the ambulance was on its way and he was pretty sure his arm was broken.
The ambulance rushed him to a hospital in Gibson City, which is where I went to go see him. The doctor there x-rayed his arm and said that is was broken in many different places. The doctor said that the bones were shattered and he was not confident enough to perform the surgery needed for it, and transferred Matt to the hospital in Urbana. They tried to get his pain under control until the doctor came and looked at his arm in the morning. That morning, another surgeon turned down performing the surgery because the damage was so extensive.
Matt was attacked on a Saturday night at around 10pm and it wasn't until Monday, around 8am that they found a surgeon who was willing to go in there and try to fix it. During surgery, the surgeon who took on the job, discovered that it was even worse when he got inside than the x-rays even let on. Another bone in the arm had to be broken to fix some of the other broken/fractured bones. Matt was told he will never be able to play guitar again, which is Matt's absolute passion in life. He's been playing for over 15 years and was currently working on several collaborative projects with other musicians to produce potential albums. He's been told that he should get about 30% range of usage of his left arm and hand back, if he gets started on his physical therapy as soon as possible.
Matt has been denied short term disability due to lack of opting in for certain benefits during a two week window last year. His job is being held for him, as he's been a valuable asset to his employer for the last few years. We have no savings and he has no income coming in. I'm doing my best to support the house bills and kids on my income, but I absolutely cannot cover any of the medical expenses as well as Matt's car payment and other necessary bills along those lines. Matt inquired with his bank about a possible deferment with his car loan payments and was denied.
The surgeon has made it very, very clear that Matt needs a special O.M.N.I. brace for his arm that will allow him to begin physical therapy as soon as possible. The brace alone costs well over $500 and there is no way we can scrape up any money to cover that cost. We've exhausted and continue to exhaust every possible resource as for getting funding/assistance/aide for these costs. The paper trail is a long process and its already been a whole week since the doctor wanted Matt to be in that brace and receiving the critically necessary physcial therapy. The longer Matt is unable to start the therapy, which is another expense that we have no idea how to cover, the more likely his arm is going to be less than 30% functional for the rest of his life.
This has been life changing. His career is in jeopardy as he needs the use of both hands to perform his job. The medical costs have already exceeded well over $50,000 and they continue to stack and pile up. The ambulance alone just to Gibson City, was billed at $5000. He also was sent in another ambulance over to Carle Hospital in Urbana. The reason why we've set the goal so low, is because we are hoping and praying that some of the red tape we've been drudging through, as we've been pursuing federal/state assistance, local agencies and organizations, will hopefully come through for us. Also we didn't want to deter any small donations as ANYTHING will help. Even simple things like groceries and household items are becoming extremely challenging to afford. OMG, gas money. Period. Its draining me. Matt spent the remaining amount of his last check, before his medical leave, covering prescriptions, which are all out of pocket expenses. Even applying for state funded assistance, they're looking at last years annual gross income, as if my husband still has income. My husband's doctor told him that even with the proper physical therapy, the soonest he could hope to return to work is still over a month away.
My husband is very hard working and dedicated family man. We've been married for 13 years now, with a 9 year old son on the honor roll as well as our daughter who is 12 years old and in gifted classes. This has been devastating to us. It's impacted every aspect of our daily lives. Like I said, absolutely any donation will help us. Big or small. If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading this and hearing our story.
-Elizabeth Marsack Morris
The attached picture is an x-ray of his arm post-surgery.
Organizer
Matt Morris
Organizer
Rantoul, IL
