Greg and his family need your help

A great man, husband, and father needs your help. My name is Leanne and I have been one of Carlee’s best friends for the last 25 years. I met her husband, Greg, 16 years go when they started dating. Carlee and Greg have now been married for 11 years and they have two adorable boys together: Preston (8) and Chandler (6). As many of you may know, back in July of this year, all four of them caught the Covid virus. Carlee and the kids recovered fairly quickly, but unfortunately Greg has been one of the unlucky ones. Despite being the young age of 39 with no underlying health conditions, the virus overtook Greg’s body and he is still very much fighting for his life everyday. 

 

When Greg initially got Covid it seemed like he was going to recover just like Carlee and the boys did, however, after about a week of being sick at home his symptoms began to worsen. He eventually began coughing up blood and was having a really hard time breathing. Carlee checked his oxygen levels and it was clear by the result that he needed to get to the emergency room immediately. Carlee stayed home with the boys while Greg drove himself to the closest hospital he could get to, which happened to be Blake. They immediately admitted him and hooked him up to a bi-pap machine to help him breathe. They were doing whatever they could to not have to put him on a ventilator, but unfortunately after about a week on the bi-pap, the ventilator became his only chance at surviving. His lungs were completely destroyed by the virus, and according to the doctors, some of the worst they had seen yet. He was on the ventilator for just a few days when again his oxygen began to drop and it became clear that the ventilator was not enough to save his life. 

 

Carlee began doing some research and learned that Greg’s only chance of survival at this point was to get him on an ECMO machine. The ECMO machine is a machine that allows your lungs and/or heart to rest while the machine does the work for them; this in turn would hopefully give his lungs some time to heal so that he could come off the ventilator and begin to breathe on his own again. The ECMO comes with a lot of its own risks, but at this point it was Greg’s last chance of survival. 

 

Regrettably, the hospital that Greg was at did not carry any of these machines or have anyone that knew how to run them as the machines are very labor intensive. Carlee reached out to all the surrounding hospitals that had ECMO to see if they would accept Greg for a transfer, but unfortunately he was rejected by those hospitals as they did not have the space to accept him. The clock was ticking for Greg and he simply had no chance of survival if he did not get on an ECMO fast. A long time family friend came to the rescue when she was able to find an out-of-state hospital that had ECMO and was willing to accept Greg as a transfer. The LaPensee’s were beyond grateful and now Greg was getting a second chance that many unfortunately do not get. 

 

The hospital that accepted Greg was the University of Alabama -Birmingham. The hospital immediately sent down an entire ECMO team to hook Greg up to the machine and fly him back to Alabama. Greg has now been in Alabama on the ventilator and ECMO since August 7th. Since that day his lungs have shown a slight improvement, but with ECMO have come complications that just need to be taken day by day. There are grim days and hopeful days, but right now all we can do is pray that Greg can pull through and that we can all see his smiling face and hear that joyful laughter once again.

 

I have set up this go fund me account to help Carlee and the boys with the numerous expenses that are compounding each week that Greg is hospitalized in Alabama. Carlee is trying to split her time as much as possible between their boys in Bradenton and Greg in Alabama. She has been flying back and forth each week in an attempt to juggle the two. The costs of the flights, accommodations, rental car and food expenses have really been adding up. Carlee has also been unable to work due to the nature of her job and the situation, which has caused a financial strain on the family. Essentially, as long as Greg is in critical condition she simply cannot return to work. Any amount that you can give, big or small, will be a blessing to Carlee and the boys and can hopefully make a very tumultuous time just a little easier. Any amount you give will go directly to Carlee to help her with these expenses.

 

At this point Greg is still in critical condition. Just a few days ago he also went into heart failure. The ECMO that was initially only connected to his lungs, has now been connected to his heart as well. We hope that no more complications arise and that Greg’s body can heal before getting any worse. He is still very much sedated and Carlee has not been able to communicate with him since prior to going on the ventilator at Blake. She is, however, finally able to be in the same room with him as he is no longer isolated away due to the virus. Greg is a perfect example as to just how devastating Covid can be. He is someone you would have never thought could experience this virus in such a severe way, but unfortunately we are seeing this more and more and Greg has been one of the unlucky ones. He will have a long road of recovery, but please pray that he will get better and return home to his family and friends. Greg has one of the biggest and kindest hearts of anyone I know. He is a great friend who is always there for those in need and I hope this helps to show them just how many people care for him and his family, as well. I will keep updates coming when there are any major changes with his recovery. Thank you all for your support and prayers.