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Dear Community, Family & Friends,
I am writing to you today because my father, known by most as Coach Brown, and I need help. Asking for help can at times be a challenging thing - it’s a place of vulnerability. It is from this place that we ask for assistance with humility, out of necessity, and with the understanding of how hard everyone works for what they have, because we have done the same.
In January of this year, my father got very sick. He was exposed to COVID-19 through his work, and the virus took a toll on his body. One of the downstream effects of the virus was that his blood entered a hypercoagulable state, which caused blood clots to form all over his body. The most concerning clots were in his left leg, hip, and lungs.
It all happened so fast - he called me the morning of January 20th as I was walking into school to tell me something didn’t feel right and that he was in a lot of pain. By that night he was being rushed into emergency surgery. When I talked to one of the surgeons the next day, he explained to me that because of the hypercoagulable state of my father’s blood, the clots that they had worked to remove had already re-formed by the end of surgery, and that there is nothing else that they could do surgically. They provided support to minimize the clots as much as possible through high doses of blood thinners and assisted his breathing through external oxygen, but our only other option was to wait and hope that his body could clear the virus.
If you’ve met my father, you know he’s many things - a silly and immensely passionate man (especially about swimming, coaching, and the Celtics!), a giver who will show up every time with no questions asked, and a man that loves deeply. He understands that there is always room for growth and above all is willing to fight for the opportunity to continue to become the best version of himself. While in the hospital he said to me, “ Tyler, I’m not done yet, I have so much more to give, and a heart full of love to offer. I’m going to beat this.” It didn’t surprise me one bit that he continued to keep his head high and look forward.
In the following weeks, as he continued to battle, we became increasingly grateful for the life saving medicine that was able to help him preserve his life, but unfortunately it came with a sacrifice. The clotting in his left lower limb was too severe to mediate, and he received an amputation. After the second surgery, I worked with the medical team to get him into a short term rehabilitation center where he was able to stay for a week before returning home.
While we are fortunate my father has great insurance that was able to cover the cost of his time in the hospital and the rehabilitation center, coverage ended once it was time to transition home. We were on our own with the support my dad required still very high. He was released home with 14 medications to manage - some of which being injections to continue to thin his blood which was still normalizing. He was still too weak to walk, and on too many medications to be of a clear decision making mind.
I am currently a first year naturopathic medical student in Portland, Oregon. Luckily, my school was willing to work with me and allow me a couple weeks to come down to Los Angeles and help my father transition home. The transition was difficult. With the help of my partner and some of our closest loved ones, we were able to help him acclimate, and get all of the necessary supports lined up.
Between the full time care-giver, nurses to manage medications and wound care, and physical therapy, we quickly realized the financial cost was not one we could afford. With this, we are asking for your support in being able to continue to provide my father with the care he needs to heal, and down the road transition to a prosthesis. He is working hard and counting down the seconds until he can safely walk in the sunshine, return to a pool deck to coach, and drive up to visit me in my new city.
We understand that this has been a challenging year for most and request that if you choose to give, please only give what is comfortable for you and your family.
If you choose to give, words will not even begin to express how grateful we will be.
Know that If you cannot give financially, your love and support is equally appreciated.
If you chose to donate, and feel comfortable leaving your information, I would like to personally send you a thank you letter.
You can also send me an email directly at [email redacted]
I believe that we truly heal, not in isolation, but in togetherness.
Sending all of the love and hopefully one day soon a hug.
Tyler Brown & Tyrone Brown
I am writing to you today because my father, known by most as Coach Brown, and I need help. Asking for help can at times be a challenging thing - it’s a place of vulnerability. It is from this place that we ask for assistance with humility, out of necessity, and with the understanding of how hard everyone works for what they have, because we have done the same.
In January of this year, my father got very sick. He was exposed to COVID-19 through his work, and the virus took a toll on his body. One of the downstream effects of the virus was that his blood entered a hypercoagulable state, which caused blood clots to form all over his body. The most concerning clots were in his left leg, hip, and lungs.
It all happened so fast - he called me the morning of January 20th as I was walking into school to tell me something didn’t feel right and that he was in a lot of pain. By that night he was being rushed into emergency surgery. When I talked to one of the surgeons the next day, he explained to me that because of the hypercoagulable state of my father’s blood, the clots that they had worked to remove had already re-formed by the end of surgery, and that there is nothing else that they could do surgically. They provided support to minimize the clots as much as possible through high doses of blood thinners and assisted his breathing through external oxygen, but our only other option was to wait and hope that his body could clear the virus.
If you’ve met my father, you know he’s many things - a silly and immensely passionate man (especially about swimming, coaching, and the Celtics!), a giver who will show up every time with no questions asked, and a man that loves deeply. He understands that there is always room for growth and above all is willing to fight for the opportunity to continue to become the best version of himself. While in the hospital he said to me, “ Tyler, I’m not done yet, I have so much more to give, and a heart full of love to offer. I’m going to beat this.” It didn’t surprise me one bit that he continued to keep his head high and look forward.
In the following weeks, as he continued to battle, we became increasingly grateful for the life saving medicine that was able to help him preserve his life, but unfortunately it came with a sacrifice. The clotting in his left lower limb was too severe to mediate, and he received an amputation. After the second surgery, I worked with the medical team to get him into a short term rehabilitation center where he was able to stay for a week before returning home.
While we are fortunate my father has great insurance that was able to cover the cost of his time in the hospital and the rehabilitation center, coverage ended once it was time to transition home. We were on our own with the support my dad required still very high. He was released home with 14 medications to manage - some of which being injections to continue to thin his blood which was still normalizing. He was still too weak to walk, and on too many medications to be of a clear decision making mind.
I am currently a first year naturopathic medical student in Portland, Oregon. Luckily, my school was willing to work with me and allow me a couple weeks to come down to Los Angeles and help my father transition home. The transition was difficult. With the help of my partner and some of our closest loved ones, we were able to help him acclimate, and get all of the necessary supports lined up.
Between the full time care-giver, nurses to manage medications and wound care, and physical therapy, we quickly realized the financial cost was not one we could afford. With this, we are asking for your support in being able to continue to provide my father with the care he needs to heal, and down the road transition to a prosthesis. He is working hard and counting down the seconds until he can safely walk in the sunshine, return to a pool deck to coach, and drive up to visit me in my new city.
We understand that this has been a challenging year for most and request that if you choose to give, please only give what is comfortable for you and your family.
If you choose to give, words will not even begin to express how grateful we will be.
Know that If you cannot give financially, your love and support is equally appreciated.
If you chose to donate, and feel comfortable leaving your information, I would like to personally send you a thank you letter.
You can also send me an email directly at [email redacted]
I believe that we truly heal, not in isolation, but in togetherness.
Sending all of the love and hopefully one day soon a hug.
Tyler Brown & Tyrone Brown