Help Per get back on his feet

Dear friends and family of Per & Erika,

Please help support Per Billgren with his rehabilitation journey after surgery and almost two months in the ICU and acute rehab at Bellevue hospital. He and his wife Erika have had a rough couple of months and still face a long road ahead.  They need our urgent support to help them through this recovery. Here is what has happened in Per's own words.....

On May 31 I had a crazy medical emergency that has led Erika and I to reach out to our network of friends and family for support.

I was on my way to an acupuncture appointment for what I thought was a pinched nerve in my back when I abruptly lost all sensation in the soles of my feet and collapsed on the street in front of our house.  A neighbor helped me to the curb and called 911 for an ambulance. Upon arriving at the hospital it was determined that the cause of my collapse was sepsis. After an MRI the doctors discovered that the MRSA bacteria had found its way to a herniated disc in my upper spine. At this point I had lost sensation in all of my extremities. Emergency neurosurgery was recommended so I immediately went under the knife.

After a successful vertebrae fusion and draining of the MRSA abscess that had formed around  my spine, I aspirated and got a bad case of pneumonia. It ended up taking a while before I could breathe or expel (or talk trash) on my own. After 8 long weeks of ICU and acute therapy at Bellevue, I eventually overcame all of that and started working on the use of my upper body.

I am now out of the hospital, off antibiotics, and in a sub acute nursing / rehab facility where I can continue to work on my arm, hand, and core strength. The feeling is back in my arms and legs and I’m making good progress. My short term goal is to be able to move from my bed to my wheelchair and go for a spin in the neighborhood. The legs will follow. For now I can at least wiggle my toes. I’m off to a good start!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and please feel free to pass it on to whomever you like.

Cheers,
Per

Erika has been doing an incredible job navigating the medical/insurance realities they are facing and his close friends and family have been advocating for him and providing emotional support these past several weeks. 

It's now our time to help! Your generous financial support will help cover medical costs and supplement living expenses as Per and Erika focus on his rehabilitation, first at the sub acute facility, then at home and eventually at a spine center. It will be a long difficult journey but Per is positive and focused on his healing.

He can do this with our support!