For Chris Jackson — A Husband, A Father, Our Rock

It’s not easy to reach out and ask for help, but right now, our family needs support to get through this.

Chris Jackson is our family’s rock. Ever since I can remember, he has always bounced back at everything that has been thrown at him. Caring for four daughters is no small task, which is why our mom stays home while our dad supports the family as the sole provider.

Growing up, he always would make sure that my sisters and I respected nature and appreciated the beauty of the outdoors. From camping trips, to coaching softball, to disc golfing, to fishing, to turkey bowl football every year on thanksgiving - he has always made sure that his girls were strong, capable, and fearless. He is always strong, even when the whole world would feel like it was crashing down, he would be the calm in the storm.

Right now, we have to be the rock for him.

On Saturday April 5th, my dad was on his annual fishing trip, a tradition since he was 5. While he was fishing, he slipped and landed on his right hip directly on a tree root. He was in pain but he pushed through since the trip was almost over. The Sunday and Monday after his trip he was still in pain but he assumed he was just sore from falling. Tuesday morning it got worse. He couldn’t miss work so he kept trying at home pain methods to push through, until he couldn’t. My dad’s construction job is very physically demanding which doesn’t give him the option to take it easy. When he tried to stand up on Thursday morning, he could not walk or put pressure on his leg.

My dad has had issues with his back for most of my life as he got injured while working at a previous job when I was very young. He has lived and pushed through a lot of pain in his life but he has never had this much trouble walking. He went to urgent care and they did an X-Ray which revealed that his disc decay in his spine had gotten significantly worse since the last time he received scans. They recommended he see a spine specialist and get an MRI done. He went in to see his primary doctor on Friday and she gave him meds, set a follow-up for Monday, and told him to go to the ER if it gets worse.

It got worse and he spent Saturday night in the ER getting a CAT scan which came back negative. During his follow up, his doctor said to try a few more days of rest and if it wasn’t better by Wednesday that she wanted to admit him to the hospital to get an MRI. It continued to get worse and he could barely even sit up due to back and leg pain. He was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday April 16th.

They tried to do the MRI twice but he couldn't lay flat without intense pain. That made laying perfectly still for 30+ minutes basically impossible. They started giving him pain medication and anti-inflammatory meds to decrease the pain and after another failed attempt, they had to try morphine. He was in no pain after that until he laid flat, then all of his pain was back and he had no choice but to deal with it until the MRI was completed. When the results came back, it found arthritis in his back, hips, and a cyst in his right hip but NONE of those seemed to be the cause for his pain. He had to go through another MRI to focus on his spine which was just as painful as the last one. Fortunately this one at least revealed a bulging disc in his low back pinching the nerve root. They got him connected with a spine specialist to get a recovery plan but in the meantime he has to walk with a cane. He was discharged on Friday the 18th and we still have no estimated recovery time.

Prior to all of this, he had already been off work for the 2 weeks before his trip because the company had a lull in work for the contractors. Now, he is potentially looking at an even longer road before walking normally let alone working.We still have no real idea what his long-term health will look like.

The consequences of 4 weeks of zero income are looming over my family as the savings account is reaching its end. My mom is doing everything she can while having to drive my dad to and from appointments, my younger sisters to and from school, and all while still taking care of everything that needs done around the house - on top of being emotionally strong for everyone else. Bills are piling up and day-to-day expenses of groceries and bills aren’t getting any cheaper.

We are asking for your help because without assistance, we will be at incredible financial risk.

My first priority is helping my family figure out their mortgage, bills, and groceries, however I am also very worried about their ability to come to my graduation. I am currently finishing my final semester at Drexel University and will be graduating in June. My family lives in Cleveland. They have completely drained what they had managed to squirrel away over the past 6 months to be able to afford to come to Philadelphia to see me graduate and celebrate but now, it is seeming impossible to still achieve.

Anything that you are able to spare to donate is incredibly appreciated and even if you just share this post know that you are helping a family survive.

Thank you for making it this far in the post and for helping my dad in his time of need.

With open hands and a humbled heart,

Chailey Sechrist