Hi I am Patty Wells and I am establishing this go fund me for Rex and Robin Lockman. Below is how it all started on June 7th of this year and although he has come a long way, he has a long road ahead of him. Please consider donating so that they can make a dent in their medical bills and Rex can concentrate on his rehabilitation.

Dear friends and family,

I am heartbroken to share that my beloved husband, Rex Lockman, suffered a severe ruptured brain aneurysm on Saturday night. He’d mentioned neck pain earlier that day, which we thought was from sleeping wrong. Tragically, while working on his new snowmobile in our shop, the aneurysm ruptured, causing a stroke. Miraculously, Rex made it back to the house, where he collapsed and was able to call out to me. Paramedics arrived, but his heart stopped. They were able to restart it and rushed him to the ER.

He was airlifted to UCHealth Anschutz in Aurora, where doctors performed an emergency shunt to relieve severe brain swelling. Since then, Rex has endured two more cardiac arrests, another stroke, and a two more brain bleeds. He is now in a medically induced coma, with his body cooled to protect his brain. Over the next few days, doctors will slowly warm him and perform an MRI to assess the extent of the brain damage.

Rex is fighting with all he has, and we’re holding onto hope. Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts. We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming love and support from all of you during this unimaginable time. ❤️

With love,

Robin

Rex Update - July 19, 2025

It’s been a rollercoaster week for Rex since my last update. As I mentioned in that post, on Tuesday he had a high white blood cell count and a fever, so the hospital ran cultures to try and figure out what was going on. Those results typically take 3-5 days. By Wednesday, Rex’s white blood cell count and fever had improved, so I was thrilled when they decided to transfer him to Northern Colorado Long Term Acute Hospital in Johnstown. The move went smoothly, and we’ve been here since Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday was a good day. Rex was in good spirits. His snowmobile buddies Shane, Jake, and Scott stopped by for a visit, and he was smiling and mouthing words to try and communicate as best as he could. I left for home Thursday night feeling very positive, but when I returned at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, things had taken a turn. Rex’s vitals, including his oxygen levels, were not good. He was dripping with sweat and was awake but not really responding. They ran bloodwork and did a chest x-ray, but the results didn’t come back until late yesterday afternoon. The news wasn’t great. Rex has pneumonia with a bacteria called pseudomonas aeruginosa, likely stemming from his tracheotomy. This apparently is a common issue in ICUs but can be life threatening.

The doctor at the rehab hospital started Rex on powerful IV antibiotics at 4:00 p.m. yesterday, and there was talk of possibly transferring him to UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Johnstown if his vitals didn’t improve. I was so worried last night that I went and bought an air mattress and received permission to sleep on the floor next to him, just to be close and able to monitor him. He can’t talk now because of the tracheostomy and can’t use his hands enough to press the nurse call button, so I need to be there 24 hours a day to be his advocate through this crisis.

God is so good and hopefully my prayers again seem to be answered. Rex is doing better today and his vitals are improving. Blood tests ordered in the middle of last night were improved. He is now more alert and hasn’t needed to nap all afternoon until just now. The antiobiotocs should really start taking affect tomorrow and Monday. My nerves are pretty much shot at this point, but am doing so much better now that he is improving.

Unfortunately, Rex was too sick to start physical therapy yesterday as planned, and they don’t offer it on weekends, so we’re looking forward to Monday, as long as he is still doing better. Insurance will only pay for probably 3-4 weeks here so we want to take full advantage of every minute. After he is discharged he will be able to go to a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility such as Life Care Center in Cheyenne. The difference between the two facilities is that Northern Colorado offers intensive medical and rehabilitation services for complex conditions, while Life Care also offers rehabilitation with physical, occupational and speech therapy but for more medically stable patients. Insurance will pay up to 90 days at Life Care!

Everyone’s warned us that therapy will be tough, and after 42 days of barely moving, he has lost so much muscle mass and strength. He weighed about 210 when he had the aneurysm and now only weighs around 185. I’ve been trying to passively and gently stretch his muscles per direction from his physical therapist. At first he was wincing in pain, but after doing these exercises many times on both Thursday and today, he doesn’t seem to be as uncomfortable, meaning it seems to be working. I’m so excited for Monday and the start of his therapy journey, even if it’s going to be a challenge.

Please keep praying for Rex’s recovery from this pneumonia and for a strong start to therapy next week. I would appreciate it so much. I know for certain that he wouldn’t be where he is right now without all your prayers.

Wishing you all a great rest of your weekend!