Get Greg Back in the Saddle!!
Donation protected
Hi Everyone,
My name is Tom Zack and I have been good friends with Greg since our days together at UCSD where we were economics students together, and scuba dive buddies. While I have been living overseas the last 30 years, I have always stayed in touch with Greg as a friend for life. Greg came out to visit my wife and I in Thailand in 2013, we had a great time and still keep in close touch.
As you probably heard, Greg had a major bike accident on September 25. It was very serious and Greg has a really challenging recovery to work through in the coming weeks and months.
Given the high cost of medical care these days, the bills have been piling up quite rapidly. So, I have helped launch a Go-Fund-Me page to assist with his medical costs.
A bit of background on what happened might help you understand the severity and urgency of this request for support from his friends. Greg was out on a bike ride and was going slowly over some railroad tracks on Winchester Blvd., had both hands on the handlebar and just hit the tracks at the wrong angle. He crashed pretty hard and was thrown into the traffic lane, but was lucky enough to not get hit by a car.
He was taken by ambulance to the hospital with 2 shots of morphine and Demerol on the way, and had surgery later that night. The surgeon said it was a “military-grade wound” and he lost almost 2 units of blood during the operation. The leg had a spiral break just below the ball joint, so they put a titanium rod and 26 staples in to repair the damage. He also had a fractured clavicle which, while painful, at least didn’t require surgery.
After four days in the hospital, he went to a rehab facility for 2 weeks of concentrated physical therapy, occupational therapy, and recovery. He was then released home, with an impressive scar and lots of swelling and bruising. His leg, side and back took the brunt of things and left quite a landscape of black and purple, along with multiple abrasions all over.
Currently, the out-patient physical recovery is gradually coming along. It’s very challenging, and a long, long uphill road to just get back to where he was before the accident. He started walking with a cane about 2 weeks ago, and the doc says in 3-6 months he should be mostly recovered if he continues his therapy and exercise program.
I think his perseverance and persistence have served him well! He says he is doing a “fair” amount of activity on a relative basis, can now drive a short distance, walk 10 minutes, etc., and is making good progress all things considered. Walking is still a great effort, he tires early in the day, and still has lots of pain, swelling, and lack of strength in the left leg. If he has a shoe on, it's almost too heavy to lift the left foot, so a long way to go to recover all that.
While he has resumed teaching online, his injuries took him of his contractor job for some time. And as we all know, insurance doesn’t cover everything. Medical bills are beginning to stack up and have become a big worry.
I know a lot of you have reached out and asked what you might be able to do to help and support him during this recuperation process. So I set up this Go Fund Me account to help him thru this financial crisis. If you are in a position to help out financially that would be very much appreciated. Given the Covid pandemic, I understand that it is a tough time to be asking for financial support, but Greg really needs some help now please.
Your thoughts, prayers, texts, emails, calls, memes, jokes, cards, visits, and general emotional support are so valuable. Even if you can’t give financially, you are all a big part of this recovery. If you can also give financial support, that is wonderful and we are all forever grateful!
Below is the link for the Go Fund Me page – It’s pretty simple and very secure. They are fairly straightforward and easy to use. Contributions are made by charge card; standard 2% processing fee, + 30 cents transaction fee apply. You can donate anonymously if you chose, can hide/display the donation amount, etc. All those options can be found on first page of donation screen.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/get-greg-back-in-the-saddle
I greatly appreciate everyone’s support and encouragement; are I too am looking forward to seeing Greg “back in the saddle” and resuming a normal life….and seeing you all in the near future!!!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email redacted] and I will try to help. Any donations of any amount will be greatly appreciated. Due to the severity of the injury and extensive therapy required to get him back to health, after insurance, he is going to be thousands of dollars in the hole, so he really does need our help please.
Donations can be made now, next week, the week after, etc, until we meet our goal. We know it is a tough time of year, but we appreciate your help whenever you can make a donation!
My name is Tom Zack and I have been good friends with Greg since our days together at UCSD where we were economics students together, and scuba dive buddies. While I have been living overseas the last 30 years, I have always stayed in touch with Greg as a friend for life. Greg came out to visit my wife and I in Thailand in 2013, we had a great time and still keep in close touch.
As you probably heard, Greg had a major bike accident on September 25. It was very serious and Greg has a really challenging recovery to work through in the coming weeks and months.
Given the high cost of medical care these days, the bills have been piling up quite rapidly. So, I have helped launch a Go-Fund-Me page to assist with his medical costs.
A bit of background on what happened might help you understand the severity and urgency of this request for support from his friends. Greg was out on a bike ride and was going slowly over some railroad tracks on Winchester Blvd., had both hands on the handlebar and just hit the tracks at the wrong angle. He crashed pretty hard and was thrown into the traffic lane, but was lucky enough to not get hit by a car.
He was taken by ambulance to the hospital with 2 shots of morphine and Demerol on the way, and had surgery later that night. The surgeon said it was a “military-grade wound” and he lost almost 2 units of blood during the operation. The leg had a spiral break just below the ball joint, so they put a titanium rod and 26 staples in to repair the damage. He also had a fractured clavicle which, while painful, at least didn’t require surgery.
After four days in the hospital, he went to a rehab facility for 2 weeks of concentrated physical therapy, occupational therapy, and recovery. He was then released home, with an impressive scar and lots of swelling and bruising. His leg, side and back took the brunt of things and left quite a landscape of black and purple, along with multiple abrasions all over.
Currently, the out-patient physical recovery is gradually coming along. It’s very challenging, and a long, long uphill road to just get back to where he was before the accident. He started walking with a cane about 2 weeks ago, and the doc says in 3-6 months he should be mostly recovered if he continues his therapy and exercise program.
I think his perseverance and persistence have served him well! He says he is doing a “fair” amount of activity on a relative basis, can now drive a short distance, walk 10 minutes, etc., and is making good progress all things considered. Walking is still a great effort, he tires early in the day, and still has lots of pain, swelling, and lack of strength in the left leg. If he has a shoe on, it's almost too heavy to lift the left foot, so a long way to go to recover all that.
While he has resumed teaching online, his injuries took him of his contractor job for some time. And as we all know, insurance doesn’t cover everything. Medical bills are beginning to stack up and have become a big worry.
I know a lot of you have reached out and asked what you might be able to do to help and support him during this recuperation process. So I set up this Go Fund Me account to help him thru this financial crisis. If you are in a position to help out financially that would be very much appreciated. Given the Covid pandemic, I understand that it is a tough time to be asking for financial support, but Greg really needs some help now please.
Your thoughts, prayers, texts, emails, calls, memes, jokes, cards, visits, and general emotional support are so valuable. Even if you can’t give financially, you are all a big part of this recovery. If you can also give financial support, that is wonderful and we are all forever grateful!
Below is the link for the Go Fund Me page – It’s pretty simple and very secure. They are fairly straightforward and easy to use. Contributions are made by charge card; standard 2% processing fee, + 30 cents transaction fee apply. You can donate anonymously if you chose, can hide/display the donation amount, etc. All those options can be found on first page of donation screen.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/get-greg-back-in-the-saddle
I greatly appreciate everyone’s support and encouragement; are I too am looking forward to seeing Greg “back in the saddle” and resuming a normal life….and seeing you all in the near future!!!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email redacted] and I will try to help. Any donations of any amount will be greatly appreciated. Due to the severity of the injury and extensive therapy required to get him back to health, after insurance, he is going to be thousands of dollars in the hole, so he really does need our help please.
Donations can be made now, next week, the week after, etc, until we meet our goal. We know it is a tough time of year, but we appreciate your help whenever you can make a donation!
Organizer
Greg Farkas
Organizer
Campbell, CA