Dodging death, but not bills!

The night of this past Christmas, our dad Scotty went to the ER with trouble breathing. He had been recovering from a respiratory illness, and while tired on Christmas Day, seemed otherwise okay. Upon arriving to the ER, it was discovered that his oxygen saturation was below 80%, and in order to save his life, the decision was made to sedate and intubate him. He was intubated for one night only, and the device was removed the next day. He then spent a week+ in the ICU recovering from intense brain fog and initial memory issues from the event and lack of oxygen to his brain. All seemed to be going well as he entered into recovery- we were all simply happy that he was alive.

Shortly after, he developed a rasp to his voice, that escalated to difficulty breathing. It was discovered that his esophagus had been badly damaged by the intubation - an issue that occurs in less than 1% of intubation cases, and usually only in cases of prolonged intubation - not in cases of being intubated for less than 24 hours. Within 4-6 weeks, scar tissue was beginning to grow so much that it was beginning to block his throat entirely. It was determined that he needed to have a ballooning procedure done to try and widen his esophagus, a procedure that did not guarantee results. Indeed, he had this procedure done, and while it provided immediate relief, the effects wore out within a week. It was at this time his case was referred to the University of Minnesota, where he was told he would need 2-3 surgeries to correct this issue - and that if they failed, he would need full reconstructive throat surgery, and, possibly, a full tracheostomy and breathing device for the rest of his life.

Hopeful that the initial, less invasive surgeries would work, he had his first procedure done with the U of M in April. This process included laser removal of the scar tissue in his throat, followed by some heavy steroids to reduce inflammation. Unhelpfully, these steroids caused a sharp increase in his blood sugar the week following his procedure, and Scotty began having intense pain in his left leg, which his doctors attributed to neuropathy from his type two diabetes. After several days of intense pain, he was advised to go to the ER, where it was discovered he had multiple serious blood clots in his leg. He was rushed by ambulance to Regions Hospital on the night of Wednesday April 23rd, where he underwent an eight hour overnight emergency surgery to remove the clots. (His surgeon initially predicted a three hour surgery.)

Upon completion of this surgery, the surgeon felt very confident that dad would be losing his leg, due to loss of blood flow over several days. For the first several days after surgery, amputation was considered the next step, while they waited to see if any blood flow returned to the leg. About three days after surgery, a heartbeat was detected in dad's foot, and they have since been waiting to see if enough returns to save his leg.

This has been a very difficult process of healing, recovery, and setbacks for the last four months, of which, our dad has barely worked or brought in income. It is still unclear if he will keep his leg, when his next throat surgeries will be rescheduled for, and how much longer he will be in the hospital. Obviously, as with all cases of prolonged hospitalization, bills are stacking up. Any help the household can receive while Scotty continues to recover will be a godsend.

Thanks for any help you can give during this incredibly weird and unpredictable time! Dad remains positive and optimistic, a gigantic feat considering everything he had endured for the last four months. <3