Help Luke Get Double Back Surgery

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking a moment out of your day to stop by and help.

First, let me take a moment to tell you a bit about my father, Luke. For as long as I've known this man... he has never sat down. I mean, he's always out in the yard, fixing something around the house, working 24/7. Up at 5 am every morning (yes, even weekends) and down at 11 pm. Working 3 jobs if he has to!! He's a workaholic, through and through. It pains him to sit still and be idle.

But the physical pain he endures on a daily basis... it's time for that to come to an end. He will finally be having double back surgery on Feb. 28th and Mar. 2nd, 2022.

The first surgery will be an Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion, lasting 5-7 hours. Where they will go through his stomach to reach his lower vertebrae. They'll have a specialist come in a move all his organs, veins, nerves, etc., out of the way. Then robotics will go in and remove all of his degenerative discs. The doctors will fill it all back in with spacers and biological material, which will later grow into the fusion and bond all the linked vertebrae after 6 to 18 months. Unfortunately, even after all of that, there is more to be endured. Doctors will then screw each side of each vertebra and connect each of those screws to a rod. Yes, you read that right... EACH vertebra. Hopefully, they will be able to tighten and shift the vertebrae into better alignment. All in all, this surgery is meant to create new disc spaces where the bone is just rubbing bone, pinching nerves and blood flow to his vital organs, and fix a step off that is causing extreme pain.

The second surgery takes place 2 days later. This one is a Posterior Fusion with Forminal Decompression, lasting 6-8 hours. Like the first, only they'll be going in from his back this time and being riskier than the first. They'll remove the discs, replace the spacers with the biological material, screw and rod each vertebra, and fix the other step off. However, during both operations, the doctors will be removing bone spurs and other such issues that have grown where they shouldn't.

Luke will be in the hospital for about a week but will be on bed rest at home for 2-6 weeks while a nurse comes and checks on him daily. Followed up by 6 months of physical therapy.

Unfortunately, he got let go a few weeks before the surgeries. Making it feel next to impossible to cover all of these expenses. Thankfully, he still has insurance coverage, but being out of work for at least 6-8 weeks takes a toll on bills, especially with medical bills piling on top. We know times are hard on everyone, so even if you can't donate, just sharing means the world. Any love and support would make a world of difference.

Thank you again for taking the time to read all of this, and in the words of my father... "I hope you have a groovy, great day!"