Fisherman Chris Crosby Emergency Heart Surgery
Donation protected
On the morning of Friday October 9th, my husband Chris suddenly collapsed while at home on our commercial fishing boat. My 6 year old son found him in pain and exclaimed to me that daddy needed help. I was unaware of what was happening to him but something told me that it was very serious and that he needed to go to a well-equipped hospital. I rushed him to the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP). He was promptly admitted to the operating room, at which point they informed us that this might be the last chance we would have to see him and to say goodbye...
It was discovered that he had a Type A Aortic Dissection, a very serious condition that requires an immediate response and open heart surgery. Most people (90%) who suffer from this do not even make it to the hospital before succumbing to internal blood loss. After a grueling 6 hour surgery, my husband left the operating room and remained in the ICU for recovery. By the grace of God and the expertise of Dr. Spowart and his team, he was stabilized. However, the complications did not end there.
After a week’s stay in the ICU he was feeling much better and seemingly on the road to a prolonged but straightforward recovery. He was extubated and felt well enough to walk around his hospital floor. Unfortunately, the extubation process proved challenging for his body and he developed pneumonia and MRSA. Luckily, this was caught in the early stages of the infection and he was promptly put on antibiotics. He is now recovering from the open heart surgery and both infections.
This continues to be the most challenging time of our young family's life, I am not able to physically see my husband in the hospital due to COVID restrictions, and our 6 year old son is traumatized. We are so lucky to have close family who came to our immediate rescue. They have been providing emotional and logistical support, and were able to secure a place for us to stay for the following month. However, this incident is proving to be financially draining.
Not only is our future in the commercial fishing industry uncertain, we are also unable to continue to live on our boat during Chris’ recovery, which will take many months. For these reasons, we are in need of financial support to see us through these trying times. Safe and adequate housing near CHOMP, a region with a high cost of living, will be one of our most pressing needs. We are grateful for anything anyone can do to help. We will continue to provide updates on Chris's condition and gradual improvement.
It was discovered that he had a Type A Aortic Dissection, a very serious condition that requires an immediate response and open heart surgery. Most people (90%) who suffer from this do not even make it to the hospital before succumbing to internal blood loss. After a grueling 6 hour surgery, my husband left the operating room and remained in the ICU for recovery. By the grace of God and the expertise of Dr. Spowart and his team, he was stabilized. However, the complications did not end there.
After a week’s stay in the ICU he was feeling much better and seemingly on the road to a prolonged but straightforward recovery. He was extubated and felt well enough to walk around his hospital floor. Unfortunately, the extubation process proved challenging for his body and he developed pneumonia and MRSA. Luckily, this was caught in the early stages of the infection and he was promptly put on antibiotics. He is now recovering from the open heart surgery and both infections.
This continues to be the most challenging time of our young family's life, I am not able to physically see my husband in the hospital due to COVID restrictions, and our 6 year old son is traumatized. We are so lucky to have close family who came to our immediate rescue. They have been providing emotional and logistical support, and were able to secure a place for us to stay for the following month. However, this incident is proving to be financially draining.
Not only is our future in the commercial fishing industry uncertain, we are also unable to continue to live on our boat during Chris’ recovery, which will take many months. For these reasons, we are in need of financial support to see us through these trying times. Safe and adequate housing near CHOMP, a region with a high cost of living, will be one of our most pressing needs. We are grateful for anything anyone can do to help. We will continue to provide updates on Chris's condition and gradual improvement.
Organizer
Natalie Artuner
Organizer
Pacific Grove, CA