Surgery Fund - Help Chris Get Better

Chris is currently recovering from his latest surgery and will be having a series of major reconstructive surgeries in the next few months to try and save him from continually developing sepsis. He has a rare perianal disease creates recurring abscesses and intramuscular fistulas, leaving him at a constant risk of septic infections and other internal damage.

The goal of this fundraiser is to help support Chris with his medical bills at the colorectal surgery center here at Mount Sinai Hospital and to account for the massive financial losses he is facing due to being incapacitated for such a prolonged period.

Chris will need at least 3 more major surgeries as things currently stand. Since 2021, Chris has been dealing with a significant and prolonged flare of his disease, requiring numerous emergency hospitalizations and surgeries. He has had 6 surgical interventions in the last 18 months. The costs of these procedures and the aftercare have been massive. Chris has exhausted all of his savings and spent all of earnings over the last two years in order to continue with his treatment and ultimately, keep himself alive. Despite the incredible efforts by his surgeon, his wounds aren’t healing internally, so a major series of surgical interventions appear to be his last real hope of a full recovery. The process is going to severely limit Chris’ ability to work for 12-18 months. He will be undergoing a full intestinal diversion, followed by a triple fistulotomy and then finally, if all goes well, the reversal of his intestinal diversion. The success rates of such extensive work are very low but if things do go to plan, his treatment timeline should take him into the beginning of 2025. By then, he will have been fighting this superinfection and its complications for 10 years.

I have started this fundraiser in the hope that he can go through his treatments and surgery while being solely focused on getting better, we’re all hoping this could give him a better chance. I have watched him struggle with this illness since 2018 but in the last year, things have become much more dangerous. Chris’ surgeons in NYC believe that the complexity of his condition is a result of the patchwork emergency care that he received through the NHS in Scotland. His disease should have been monitored and diagnosed after his hospital visits but unfortunately Chris was unable to receive any help through multiple medical practices at home. Due to the procedures that Chris underwent in Scotland, he now has a complex intrasphincteric horseshoe fistula throughout his perianal canal and buttocks, with three major cavities currently supported by surgical setons and other drainage equipment. Having a focused and invested care team here in New York has been vital in managing his condition and avoiding sepsis since 2021. He’s in safe and capable hands and has done his best to provide for himself, but as his illness has progressed further, he now needs a little help.

Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate any support, shares or advice at this stage.

Chris would also like to say a huge thank you to Courtney Tompsett, Jon Feldman and everyone at SEY Coffee for their love & support already.

This GoFundMe has been made by me, Reed, on behalf of my boyfriend Chris. All funds will go to Chris directly and will be used to pay for his medical and living expenses while he undergoes these procedures.