Fundraiser to help cover the cost of caregivers

For those of you that know  Christopher, you know his personality and sense of humor is infectious and inspiring. I’m sure I don’t speak for only myself when I think that if I were the one paralyzed and reliant on a wheelchair, I wouldn’t be able to keep up the optimism and positive nature that Christopher has. He truly is a joy to be around and a wonderful addition to this world!

 

As many of you know, Christopher is known for being the proud father of 3 young men, he gained many friends living a prolific life as professional filmmaker, a accomplished photographer, biker, world traveler, loved tree line camping, the water, from diving to ocean kayaking & body surfing. Four years ago, August 5 he was body surfing with friends in Santa Monica when a freak 7 foot wave picked him up and slammed him into one foot of water, as a result he became a quadriplegic completely paralyzed from the chest down with no use of his hands or fingers. Subsequently Christopher was awarded 24-hour LVN nursing care by Medi-Cal to dispense with the medical daily tasks that he is wholly unable to do by himself.

 

Unfortunately, Christopher has consistently been unable to receive the full LVN nursing care for at least 14-16 days every month, as the nursing agency has been unable to find qualified LVN’s to cover those days. To make matters worse with very little warning the nursing he does have is inconsistent and unreliable as they call off the day of with no warning, if he's lucky he might get told a few days before. The insanity of it all is the nurses know there is no one to cover them.

 

Despite that he still must to be turned at every two hours, to be fed given medications, bandages changed emptying of both Foley and a colostomy bag. None of this he can do by him self. He needs help getting dressed, getting transported from the bed to the chair, assisted going to collect groceries, meal prep, transportation to doctor’s appointments, physical & occupational therapy too. As you can see it's a tall order and a lot to expect true friends who have been literally saving his life & skin.

 

To bridge the gap, he has relied upon the extraordinary kindness and generosity of dear friends from every walk of his life: they have shown up at all hours of the day and night, to help guard against the decline of his condition. While they will continue to support him, he knows the simple truth is this: asking friends to “fill in” for a licensed nurse for those 14-16 days per month is unreasonable and unsustainable for all involved.

 

Therefore, we are initiating this gofundme campaign to make Christopher’s  care more manageable, predictable, and safe. Our goal is to raise enough funds to allow Christopher’s  to hire a qualified caregiver who can reliably help fill as many of these ‘vacant  shifts’ each month as possible. The state will only compensate for licensed nurses, as there is a known shortage of available licensed nurses: your contributions will make it possible for a qualified caregiver to perform those crucial services until the nursing shortage changes. Until such time this will always be an ongoing issue for Christopher we’d like to help provide some peace of mind so he can be at ease knowing that his needs will be taken care of in the short term. Christopher brings light and joy into our lives, and we’re hoping that with the generosity of those who love him would help Christopher in this time of need. Thank you!


September 18 we had the joy to take Christopher back out into the ocean to the scene of the crime this is the life we are helping to ensure remains I happy long one for for him, his three sons his family and all of us. Yet again thank you for your support I cannot believe that we are so close in such a short period of time our minds are completely blown. Much like they were on this day to see him back in the water that he loved so much!