Help Dad (DumpTruck's BFF) Overcome Sudden Neuro Disease

I was conflicted about asking for financial help, (I don't like asking others to foot our personal bills). But a perfect storm hit my family with Dad’s sudden hospitalization and ongoing need for medical care PLUS our service dog, DumpTruck, fighting a battle with lymphoma, and passing in February. With the debt continuing to pile up, I caved.

Dad:

In January of this year my Dad was struck with multiple complex neurological diseases at the same time, including vasculitis, “parkinsonisms", and heavy metal poisoning that landed him in the hospital where he would stay for 4 MONTHS. He went from an unstoppable, hyper-intelligent, fighter of a man to completely dependent, confused, and unable to walk within weeks. The emotional toll this has taken on my family, including our service dog, DumpTruck, has been huge, and this has been, without question, the hardest year of my entire life. Never knew my 40th year would look like this…

DumpTruck:

Our service dog, DumpTruck, whom many of you know either personally or thru the grapevine, died suddenly from lymphoma. Dad had a special bond with DumpTruck (pictured), and he spent days by Dad’s side in the hospital giving him great comfort until DumpTruck got sick and died unexpectedly, in spite of intense medical intervention. The hole that left added immeasurable grief and difficulty. 

Even without DumpTruck with him, Dad continued to fight the odds against severe aspiration pneumonia in the hospital, which we were not sure he would overcome, but he did!

Why we need help:

Dad is improving with rehab, but insurance has fought us every step of the way.  As of late April he is in rehab where he’s working to reverse the total atrophy that happened from being bedridden for ¼ of a year and is healing day by day FINALLY.  BUT THE BIG PROBLEM is that Dad’s insurance is cutting him off due to their “allotted” days allowed, BEFORE he is healed, which means he can’t continue to get the rigorous rehab he needs to recover.  

Through our tireless research we learned that as a veteran (served in Korea) he has access to in-patient rehab at the VA Medical Center. But even that has hurdles, and the complexity of the V.A. process has made it IMPOSSIBLE as of now to access THOSE financial benefits. This means if we can get him in, we will be liable for bills that we cannot afford without assistance. 

We are looking at months of continued care for Dad, and as it stands, we have to pay out of pocket for more than we can afford due to insurance cutting him off and the V.A. not working with us. 

He can continue to receive PT and OT therapies at in-patient rehab or skilled nursing facilities as long as we can keep him there, but we need money for it. (I have also been doing strength training exercises with him on our own time. Every little bit helps.). We also expect him to need several months of home therapy once he leaves in-patient rehab, and eventually will also need further out-patient rehab to totally regain his strength. 

The overlap:

Losing DumpTruck was the shock of my life, and it happened at the same time we were already managing Dad’s illness in the hospital. Some of you know that DumpTruck is my soulmate, and he was struck suddenly and unexpectedly with an aggressive form of large cell lymphoma in January, and despite all efforts to fight it (chemo, T-cell therapy, multiple blood transfusions) it took his life in less than four weeks. It feels like yesterday, and I am still crushed from it. So in addition to Dad’s expenses, I have the financial burden of over 20K in medical bills from fighting that disease. One part about all this that cuts deep is that, to this day, as dad is still fighting to come back from his own disease, he does not know that DumpTruck went to heaven. As far as he's concerned, DT left the hospital one day and just hasn't come back. (I can't put that burden on dad until he's healed more cognitively. It will break his heart.) 

How funds will be used:

The financial burden for this goes beyond medical bills. It includes regular transportation from our homes sometimes 1-2 hours from the facilities where Dad is, out-of-pocket costs for private care, medications not covered by insurance, continued rehab, out of pocket costs for privately hired medical care, medical equipment for dad, in-home health and physical trainers to fill in where insurance will not, and things we haven’t even anticipated yet. 

In addition, Dad is still a huge fall risk, and none of the skilled nursing facilities can provide around the clock supervision, so we have to hire someone privately to stay with him overnight. That alone costs us about $420/night. 

Summary:

20K in the hole after DumpTruck's illness, medical bills piling up for dad, and now money to pay out of pocket for his rehab and round the clock medical supervision is what made me decide finally to reach out for help.  I promised DumpTruck on his deathbed that I would take care of dad, as he did, and this is one way I can make good on that promise, and attempt to get dad his life back. Thank you so much for reading this lengthy story, and for ANY amount given to this fund. My promise is that any money donated to this fund that is beyond what we need for these specific costs will go to trustworthy organizations that cover costs of others in similar situations, AND I will be very transparent about who that is. In addition, if our financial need decreases, I will end the GoFundMe before reaching our goal so that no more is donated than absolutely necessary for our medical costs, and any excess at that time will go to a trusted organization as stated. 

YES it should be easier to access the benefits he earned by serving his country, but unfortunately the system isn't set up that way. I know very well that money is tight for many people right now! If you can’t give, please share the link. Any help is appreciated. 

— Sarah and DumpTruck (from heaven)