Disabled Veteran Asks for Help for Wife

Hello, my name is Chris Colbert and I am raising funds to help my beautiful wife Esther who suffered several major medical incidents since October 2022; after ten months of being in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and inpatient rehabilitation, Esther was able to return our home on July 20, 2023 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

The help I am asking for is to pay medical bills, buy monthly supplies and equipment not covered by insurance, and hopefully get some help for me during the week to take care of Esther and the house. Honestly, folks I am so exhausted mentally and physically any little help would be a relief. Thank you all for taking the time to read our story.

This has truly been a long journey for Esther, beginning the morning of October 11, 2022, when I found Esther unresponsive and barely breathing. I called 911 and stabilized her airway until EMS arrived who then transported her to the ER. I got to the ER barely minutes after Esther was brought in and they escorted me and my daughter straight back to Esther. The doctor said she was still unresponsive and in kidney failure and that her other organs were beginning to also shut down. Esther's prognosis was not good and the doctor sent us back to the waiting room.

After two hours (a lifetime it felt to us) they called us and told us Esther was in sepsis from an infection and it would be touch and go for the next few days. During that time we learned that she had MRSA and that it was in her hips and spine, two of the four most common locations for MRSA to colonize. We were fortunate it never reached her heart or brain, however, Esther did suffer a minor stroke in her frontal lobe. After two weeks in ICU Esther was moved to the step-down unit and she started her path to recovery. She would have to be on two very powerful IV antibiotics for the next several weeks to recover from the MRSA infection, unfortunately, this would not be the last time Esther would nearly be lost to us.

In early November 2022, Esther suffered an event called flash edema and she went into respiratory arrest. She had accumulated so much fluid in her body that it caused one of her lungs to collapse and partially the other lung. She was placed on a bi-pap machine and given medication to help rid her body of the excess fluid. On December 23, 2022, Esther was moved to inpatient rehabilitation but she was still not well and a week later she was back in the hospital and having back surgery because the MRSA infection moved through her entire lumber spine and part of the tailbone. This was difficult for Esther because of the damage which was done to her spine which delayed her recovery by months. It was during this time she was injured while in inpatient rehabilitation and developed an infection in her left calf further complicating her recovery. After, several months of recovery and rehabilitation Esther was able to come home on July 20, 2023.

Esther continues to fight each day to recover some sense of normalcy in her life but unfortunately, she will continue to have to use a wheelchair, need help with daily tasks, and sleep in a hospital bed which we keep in the living room. I feel so guilty because I do not feel I can help her enough. I am a 100% disabled veteran and it is difficult for me to help move her around and I get so easily tired. My daughter helps when she can but she works and her time is limited. Home health comes out three times a week but that will only last for a couple of months. I have drained our savings, and nearly maxed out our credit cards paying for equipment and supplies insurance will not cover. We also owe almost $10,000 in medical bills some of which are already in collections.