On the morning of January 19, I woke up with a slight pain in my lower left back. One week later I was rushed by ambulance through a blizzard for emergency surgery on my upper spine. A bacterium had run rampant through my spinal column, causing an abscess in my neck. The surgery was successful in clearing the abscess, but left me paralyzed from the neck down. Eric and I have never been so terrified in our lives. On the verge of retirement, it looked as if our future had collapsed. Yet just a few weeks later I have taken my first tentative steps. The tunnel ahead is long, but there is light at the end. The prognosis is very good.

We are reaching out for help. Medical expenses are mounting. There will be a second rehab after this rehab, outpatient rehab, and therapists for home rehabilitation. But independence and mobility aren’t just medical expenses. We have already begun to renovate a bath to be handicap accessible, but this is just the start: we also need to work on another bath, install extra banisters, remove several rooms of wall-to-wall carpeting and replace flooring, etc.

We have a vision for the future. A future where my body is liberated by rehabilitation; our home made safe by renovation.

Every donation — no matter how large or small — brings us closer to our vision.

If you’re unable to donate, simply sharing this page on social media or with your friends and loved ones can make all the difference.

With all our gratitude, Chuck and Eric.