PLEASE HELP FRED GORNIAK STAY IN HIS HOME
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Hello Everyone, we are a group of family and friends who are fundraising for James (Fred) Gorniak to help with his everyday care and keep him out of nursing home and have his wheelchair lift repaired.
Some of you know Fred and the people that know him knows what a fighter he is.
- Most of you know that at the age of 22 he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Fred worked as a Millwright out of Chicago Local 1693 until he was 35 and because of the aggression of his MS he could no longer do the work he loved. He went to chef school to become a chef to help supplement his income while now living on social security disability.
- At the age of 48 he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. He went through radiation and chemo treatments and was hoping for a full recovery. After having a follow-up PET scan the cancer was back and the doctors here in Northwest Indiana could no longer help him. He was referred to a doctor at the University of Chicago that specialized in head and neck surgery. His options were to live on a feeding tube the rest of his life or have his voice box removed and have reconstructive throat surgery, lose your voice but still be able to eat; Fred chose to lose his voice. The recovery was long but he fought thru it and during the next 3 months in the hospital he had lost the use of his legs and now has become wheelchair bound. For the next 10 years Fred lived independently and on his own without any kind of assistance. He had a wheelchair that he could get in and out of his car on his own and Ford had put hand controls in his vehicle for him.
- In June of 2019 he developed some pressure wounds that had gotten infected and he had to be hospitalized for extensive treatment. For the next 8 months he spent a month in a nursing home and then going back and forth to the wound clinic on a weekly basis and all still living independently.
- In February of 2020 he was taken to the hospital because his wounds became infected again and need extensive treatment again. He spent a month in the hospital and then was sent to a skilled nursing home because the hospital insisted that's where he needed to be. The day after he transferred to the nursing home COVID happened and for the next 3 months his sisters could not see him or monitor his care and progress. Nothing was more heart breaking because this is a person who now can no longer walk or talk and his only means of communicating is by texting. Needless to say this is where his care goes down hill and to graphic to tell what happened to him.
- In May of 2020 his sisters take him out of the nursing home to see his wound doctor; once again he is admitted into the hospital for the next 2 1/2 months. He came out with more wounds than he went to the nursing home with and was at risk of losing his left foot; and once again he had to go into surgery for debridement and had to have extensive IV antibiotic treatment for the infection.
- In August 2020 Fred transitioned home and his care is now more complex; he is bedridden because his legs are contracted from his MS, he has a foley catheter, colostomy and a feeding tube. His 2 sisters help take care of him along with a full time caregiver because his sisters both have to work. Fred has been paying out of pocket for his care because insurance does not pay for private care. He has almost exhausted all of his savings to do so and to keep himself from being in a nursing home these last 13 months.
Many people have asked how can we help. As you can imagine the recovery process from any kind of wound is long. He will never recover from his MS and is now bedridden. He has a couple of medical bills that he is going to be responsible for and his wheelchair lift is in need of repair. We all want him to keep receiving the exceptional care he's been getting at home to help him continue with his healing process. The best way we can do that is to help alleviate the financial stress that this has put on him and his family and the worry of him going back into a nursing home.
We appreciate and thank you for your contribution however big or small. Lets show Fred that he is not alone and how much he is loved by his family and friends.
Organiser and beneficiary
Laura Lowing
Organiser
Lake Village, IN
James Gorniak
Beneficiary