Hello, my name is Gabe Wright, and I truly appreciate you taking a moment to read my story.

The year 2023 started as THE YEAR that I felt I would finally be able to live the life I have worked so hard to achieve. For the first few months of 2023, I had never been happier and for the first time in a long time, I felt such a peace I never knew existed. I allowed myself to settle down and build a life in Tampa, surrounded by amazing colleagues and friends.

On May 25th, I was out and about running errands when suddenly began to feel a weird sense of doom. I knew that something was not right. I called my doctor’s office and was instructed to go to the closest emergency room immediately. Upon arrival, while being triaged at the front desk, symptoms became worse in which medical personnel called a code.

From there, they rushed to me to get a CT scan as I was experiencing symptoms of an increased amount of pain in my neck that was radiating over to the right side of my face in which I also had signs of facial droop. I was becoming increasingly worried and confused while surrounded by several medical staff trying to communicate with me. Not only was the experience at the time scary while I was in and out of consciousness but as a Deaf person, it was difficult to understand what everyone was saying.

My condition at the time deteriorated quickly due to the symptoms of a spinal stroke and was admitted to ICU. For the next few days, I had undergone evasive workups, procedures, as well as a bronchoscopy to help open my airway and esophagus. About 5 days after I was admitted to the ER, I had surgery at the C2 – C4 of my neck.

The surgery was a success! However, I had a long road ahead of me which led to a total of 42 days spent in the hospital, including time in a physical rehabilitation hospital. I had left the physical rehabilitation hospital in a wheelchair where I was committed to attending physical therapy 2 – 3 times a week. As of Aug 7th, I was able to finally return to work without the use of a wheelchair and still attend physical therapy at least twice a week. Currently, I am still unable to drive until I feel comfortable enough with my response time and feel safe behind the wheel.

Before my release from the hospital, some friends helped bring to my attention that the place I have been renting, smelled like mold and noticed a significant amount of termite wings and roaches. I had reported this to the owner but it was not taken seriously. The owner stated that he does not smell anything even though several others have even though there was also evidence of mold growth along with termites. I eventually was able to get the city of Tampa to come out and conduct an inspection in which the owner was found in violation of many. That, it displaced me from being able to live there due to the hazard to my health. I refused to reside in a place where an owner could not take accountability to not only fix things but accept the fact that it was inhabitable. He did his own Do It Yourself Air Quality test that showed nothing. I did my own where I spent $450 or my own money which debunked his finding, yet it didn’t matter.

The day I was released from the hospital I was displaced from my home and had to find a place to stay temporarily in a hotel for a month which cost me a lot of money I will not get back. I learned from from a lawyer that legislation in FL does not support tenants as much as it should thus leaving me out of thousands of dollars from hotel stays as well as having to throw away all my furniture, personal belongings, and most clothes due to damage from mold smell.

I now need to find a new place to live, which will increase my expenses as well and do not have any money left to be able to put down for deposits and rent to start. I will also have to eventually buy new furniture as well as clothes. In addition to this, medical bills are slowly beginning to pile up and have also fallen behind in a lot of my bills. I am fortunate that my work had short-term disability insurance. I was also earning additional income outside of work that provided me the ability to stay up to date with expenses, but I am no longer able to do that work since I am unable to drive.

After much encouragement, my friends have convinced me to let down my guard and know that it is OK to ask for help. It was at that point that I began to realize the uphill battle that is ahead of me. I finally understood I am not able to do this alone. I am going to need help from friends and the community.

It is at my most vulnerable moment that I humbly ask for donations so that I can reclaim back the amazing life I was living before the trip to the ER. The monetary support will allow me to catch up on my bills, pay medical expenses, and get set up in a new place to live. I have always prided myself on being a fighter and someone who can overcome any obstacle, but even the strongest of us can't do it alone. Again, any help would be so greatly appreciated.