Help Bob Corker Get Back Up

Bob always says, "It ain't about how ya fall; it's about how ya get back up."

My dad, Bob Corker, needs help covering some of the costs of a recent medical emergency. He is lucky to have Medicare covering the cost of treatment, but his finances have been upended by his now month-long stay in a couple of hospitals. He faces mounting bills at home while his spouse, Karin, is unable to work as she has helped him face this difficult and unforeseen medical event at his side.

Dad is a private and prideful person, but it would be unfair to ask for donations without revealing the nature of his medical emergency and financial need.

He collapsed in his home in Lillian, AL, on December 16th, 2024, and was conveyed in an ambulance to Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola, where he was treated with antibiotics and pain management. Surgeons at Sacred Heart unsuccessfully attempted to remove two blood clots, and Dad experienced an adverse reaction to a dye used in a test that caused extreme pain and swelling in his legs that continues to persist. Due to the complexity his care required, he was placed on a waiting list for a room at UF Health Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he waited two weeks for a bed to become available. Finally, when a vacancy appeared, he was transferred overnight on Thursday, January 9th, 2025.

At Shands, the staff decisively scheduled a surgery for Monday, January 13th, that is in many ways reminiscent of his urostomy to treat his bladder cancer in 2005. This time, however, the surgery was complicated by blood clots and the blood thinners they were using to treat them. Surgeons would remove a perforated section of his large intestine and install a temporary colostomy to his left hip (mirroring the urostomy on his right) to allow the infected area to heal. Fecal matter had escaped the perforated intestine to become impacted in the surrounding cavity, including the muscles in his lower back, and caused a crossover infection in his bladder system. The critical surgery lasted for a little over five hours and was a complete success.

Following the surgery, Bob has been energized and in good spirits other than his haste to put some food in his belly and try out this new intestinal route (which he will be able to do two days after surgery). Here he is improvising a song to coerce his nurses to move up that time frame. It almost worked.

The most dangerous part of Dad's medical event has ended, but the difficult part begins. He will soon begin rehabilitating and strengthening the abdominal muscles around his incisions, a process that will take weeks. Karin will remain at his side to support and encourage him, but their bills are not so patient.

Patient accommodations at Shands are fortunately spacious enough for Karin to avoid hotel costs and remain with him. Both before and after this critical surgery, Bob was preoccupied with worry over covering their bills without Karin's wages to supplement his social security. Any funds donated will contribute to their travel costs and typical household expenses, providing clarity and peace of mind as Dad continues his physical rehabilitation here in Gainesville, Florida. He's a tough old bastard, but this time he could use some help getting back up.

I am sincerely grateful for your thoughtful consideration and kindness during this difficult medical episode, and his spouse Karin, daughter Brandy, and brother Rick are, too.

Thanks, and have a great day!