URGENT Medical Expense & Home Renovation Needs for Brian

Thank you for visiting our GoFundMe site! We hope you will read everything to appreciate the incredible need for the recipients.

My name is Debbie Thomas, and I am fundraising to help my friends, Brian and Lisa Hood, navigate the incredibly difficult journey they are currently on. I will expand more on this, but for now, here's the situation:

Brian suffers from severe heart failure (15-20% ejection fraction) and severe peripheral artery disease, which is compounded by his reduced cardiac output.

He has endured multiple surgeries on his legs trying to increase blood flow enough to prevent gangrene. These efforts have provided only minimal results, and a few weeks ago, one of his legs was amputated (due to PAD). The condition of the other leg is precarious and may require amputation as well.

Brian has been under the care of VCU Cardiology and Riverside Cardiology and Vascular. There was hope that he would be eligible for a ventricular assist device as a bridge to heart transplant, but the complications from such severe peripheral artery disease prevent that, at least for now. The goal is to prevent further loss of heart function while getting the P.A.D. under control.

I have much more to tell you about Brian personally and about his dedicated and loving wife, Lisa. But to expedite this GoFundMe account going live, I'm going to stress their immediate needs and reasons for this account.

Immediate Needs

1) Financial (or in-kind) assistance to remodel areas of their home to be handicap accessible. The downstairs bedroom, bathrooms, and shower have to be reconfigured to enable navigation from a wheelchair or other assistive devices. He will eventually be fitted for a prosthetic, but that is a ways off yet.

2) Assistance with his out-of-pocket medical expenses, which will likely be at least $18,000 for last year's and this year's combined deductibles and co-pays until they reach their maximum out-of-pocket amount. Note that Brian will not qualify for Medicare assistance until he has been completely disabled for 2 years! (More about his disability journey later)

3) Medications - cardiac medications are often incredibly expensive, and deductibles/co-pays add up quickly.

4) Brian may have been in the hospital more than he has been at home the past year. This requires Lisa (who is still working/running her own cleaning business) to travel to him almost daily, from Toano to Newport News or Toano to Richmond. When he is home, she takes him to doctor appointments and therapy, etc. This means missing some workdays, which have resulted in the need to reschedule her clients, miss some entirely, and have lowered their income considerably - all while paying out even more.

The need is great and your help is greatly appreciated.