My husband Cordell was in a motorcycle accident on September 15, 2024. He was brought in as a John Doe. He coded within the first 24 hours; thankfully, they were able to bring him back. Numerous surgeries to save his life were performed to make repairs, followed by sepsis and kidney failure, an infection in the hardware they used to put him back together, and then eventual femur head removal (Girdlestone). In total he has had more than 20 surgeries.

After 26 days intubated, he was able to open his eyes and speak to us. On day 80, he was discharged from ICU to a long-term care facility where he stayed until December 30, 2024. On that day, we were finally stable enough to go to inpatient rehab. He was discharged home as he exhausted the coverage for that type of care, on February 10, 2025.

We are receiving wound care at home, as well as in-home rehab multiple times a week. I, his wife, am his sole caregiver. He cannot walk. He cannot move his legs without aids. Our home is not designed in a manner that he can navigate to the bathroom in his wheelchair, even if he could get on the toilet or shower. He needs someone to dress him, bathe him, take care of his ostomy, maintain his medications, feed him, etc. I’m self-employed, but due to the time requirements to assist him every day, I cannot leave him home alone to obtain a traditional job that might help alleviate the costs further or gain health insurance. The alternative would be a nursing home (not sure who would pay for that) where he would get little to no rehabilitation and be nowhere near strong enough to attempt the surgeries that will hopefully repair him to a livable but still disabled body.

Cordell had an amazing job at a company he loved for over 15 years with fantastic healthcare coverage; however, he has exhausted his FMLA and he will have exhausted his short-term disability as of 3/15/25 and has no choice but to continue onto COBRA health insurance, which is much needed as he will not have the opportunity to even determine whether he will be able to walk again with three additional surgeries until at least 10/2025, according to his orthopedic team. His monthly medical premium for COBRA is $1000, and his monthly medications are well over $600, plus co-pays and future rehab and all of the upcoming costs to restore his body.

Losing medical coverage would end wound care, end his home medical supplies, such as ostomy and other bodily functions, end home rehab, and all of his life-sustaining medications and any hope for a better quality of life down the road.

The road to Social Security disability is long, and there’s no guarantee it will even exist for him to be approved. His quality of life is tragic.

Cordell is a proud man and has never asked for help from others. I know that our story is not unique, but it is ours, and we are desperately trying to navigate how to move forward and how to best take care of him.

He is a Papa to our four grandchildren that adore him, he’s only 48 years old, he deserves a chance to see this through. Please help him.