Hey everyone, this is Chova, Terry's sister-in-law, Lee's younger sister organizing this fundraiser. I was asked by Terry to help make this GoFundMe for her.

Right now, Terry is by Lee's side at the Stanford hospital in Palo Alto, over 80 miles away from home. Focusing on his recovery while her family and in-laws are stepping in to help care for their kids. Unfortunately, with no current income and no clear timeline for Lee's recovery, this is an incredibly stressful time for Terry and her family.

Below is a copy and paste of what Terry posted on Facebook of what happened to Lee.

'Sunday night, after I got off work, Lee and I decided to take the kids out to Denny’s on Waterloo. We had just sat down and ordered drinks when Lee said he needed to use the restroom. As we were about to order our meals, he came out looking like he was in so much pain. He told me to call 911.

In a panic, I called for help. Thankfully, the workers at Denny’s were understanding—they didn’t even make us pay for the drinks since they could see I had my hands full. The ambulance arrived and took Lee to St. Joseph’s Medical Center (SJMC), leaving me to figure out what to do with the kids.

I was able to get my sister-in-law, Shing, to help. She came to switch cars with me, taking my car and the kids to her place so I could go to the emergency room with Lee. We stayed there until early Monday morning when the doctors told us that Lee had an aortic dissection—a life-threatening condition—and needed surgery immediately.

Unfortunately, SJMC couldn’t perform the surgery, so they started making calls to other hospitals. Most of the hospitals were full, including UC Davis. Meanwhile, Lee was cold and asked me to grab his blanket and some clean clothes from home since he had vomited on himself.

By the time I got back to the ER with his things, we received a call saying they found a hospital—Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto—that could take him. It was over an hour and a half away, and it was already 4 a.m. I hadn’t slept and was still feeling sick from the weekend, but I decided to drive to Palo Alto anyway. I wanted to see him before he went into surgery.

Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at 6 a.m., Lee was already in the operating room. The surgery went well, but the doctors said they needed to perform another procedure on his left leg because they couldn’t detect a pulse. They had to open up the veins to restore proper blood flow.

This morning, Lee finally woke up. They removed his breathing tube, and now he’s using a mask. He’s doing better but still struggling to talk, which frustrates him when he tries to communicate. He’s been asking for water, but the doctors won’t allow it yet because he needs to breathe fully on his own first. Otherwise, the water could get into his lungs and cause pneumonia.

The doctors initially said he’d be in the hospital for about a week, but now they’re saying it could take a few weeks. I’m stressed about rent and bills coming up, but right now, I’m just grateful and blessed that Lee is okay. Everything else can wait.

Thank you for your concern—I just wanted to update you all on what’s been happening.'

If you're unable to donate at this time, please keep Lee in your thoughts and prayers for a full recovery.

You can also directly send your donations through: