On September 12, Frank’s life changed in an instant. What started as a simple day out turned into a medical nightmare that no one could have imagined.

Frank fell off a stool at a local restaurant near home, fracturing his C4 and C5 vertebrae, and cracking a few ribs. Life-flight air lifted him to Gainesville, two hours away, to a hospital specializing in complex neck and back surgeries.

Unfortunately, things quickly went from bad to worse.

When Frank arrived, doctors needed to give him a blood transfusion — but he developed a rare and serious reaction called TRALI (Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury). This condition caused his lungs to stop functioning properly. He was immediately intubated and placed on a ventilator to help him breathe.

When his condition didn’t improve after several days, doctors placed him on an ECMO machine for life support (similar to an iron lung) to give his lungs time to heal. Then came another setback — his lungs weren’t recovering fast enough, so they implanted electrical leads on his diaphragm to stimulate his breathing and inserted a feeding tube to provide nutrition.

Frank also developed ICU delirium, causing confusion, hallucinations, and sleeplessness — all of which make healing harder.

As if that weren’t enough, pneumonia set in, and his condition became critical. He stopped breathing, and the doctors didn’t think he would make it through the night. The next morning, however, doctors inserted a chest tube to drain fluid from his collapsed lung. Thankfully, his vitals began to improve, and he stabilized.

Frank has now been in the ICU for over 40 days. His medical team believes he will need a lung transplant and long-term respiratory support. Once he is stable enough, he will be transferred to a long-term acute care facility, still several hours from home. He will also need spinal cord surgery as part of his recovery.

The financial toll is staggering.

Because the Gainesville facility is out of network, insurance will only cover 70% of the costs. The remaining 30% falls on Rema. The average cost of ventilator care is $11,000 per day, not including the multiple surgeries, procedures, and ongoing care he still needs. The family’s portion of the medical bills is expected to exceed $300,000.

Everyone keeps asking how they can help. The truth is — any support makes a difference. Whether it’s a donation, a message of encouragement, or sharing this page with others, your kindness means the world to Rema and the family during this heartbreaking and uncertain time.

Please consider donating to help ease the enormous financial burden ahead and give Frank the chance to focus on healing.

Thank you for your love, generosity, and prayers.