Help Matthew get his life back
Donation protected
Hey everyone,
My name is Samantha and I created this fundraiser for my dad, Matthew Cosby.
His story is quite complex, so I will do my best to keep it straightforward.
On May 2nd, 2022, my dad was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
Upon arriving to the hospital, he collapsed and went into Cardiac Arrest, full organ failure and had a seizure after almost 20 years of being seizure free (he is an epileptic).
As a result, he was put on complete life support and transferred to another local hospital. He was not expected to survive the following 48 hours.
He was in a comatose state for the following 2 weeks while the Doctors tried to find the source of his sudden illness. After the 1st week, he was then diagnosed with Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating disease) which had travelled to his bloodstream from a small burn on his right hand and caused Sepsis.
After he awoke from the coma, he remained vented while on 24 hour Dialysis and medication as his organs could not support themselves. As a result of the N.F, my dad unfortunately had to have tissue removal and grafting done on his right arm, from a donor site on his left thigh.
Due to organ failure and complications, my dad had also developed gangrene in his hands and feet. Unfortunately, the tissue in his right foot was unable to be healed and began to spread.
The decision was made to amputate his right leg right below the knee.
Furthermore, he continued to suffer seizures during this time. We noticed that something was wrong and requested an immediate MRI and CT. Upon completing that, the Doctors found that my dad had not one, but TWO strokes - one on each side of his brain.
As of now his condition is very limiting. He has no mobility in his upper body and severe contractures. He requires 24/7 support in order to do even the smallest daily activies including sitting, eating, drinking and using the bathroom. He uses a medical bed, hoyer lift and multiple other support equiptment that we have purchased.
He cannot walk due to the amputation and the 12 weeks of bed rest in the hospitals has severly impacted his muscle integrity.
His mindset and cognitive function has been impacted as well as a result of the strokes, seizures and trauma that he has gone through. He has to learn how to talk again, due to brain damage affecting his language regulators. The emotional impact that his reality has taken on him is also a very challenging aspect to navigate, especially due to difficulties with emotional regulation (also related to strokes).
We do not give up, and we will not give up.
As of now, my dad was discharged from hospital and is waitlisted for a Rehabilitation Facility.
We were told that it will be a minimum of 2 years for my dad to be fully rehabilitated to his new baseline of health.
He is forever changed.
For those of you who do not know, home care support is few and far between unless you pay for it out-of-pocket.
We have come together as a family to privately cover all expenses, and provide my dad with the best care that we can during this time by being his main caregivers.
There has been great financial loss and we have no choice but to seek external supports to cover bills - property, personal and medical.
We have exhausted our finances.
I am reaching out to our community to ask for any type of help you can offer.
We do not want to see my dad lose everything he has spent his life building.
He is a man who loves life and has always lived it to the fullest.
If there is anything that you or someone you know can do to help, the appreciation from my family and my dad would be immeasurable.
The only wish we have in our hearts, is to see my dad living again, not just surviving each day.
Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have, and we will do our best to respond to each of them as quickly as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any help you are able to offer.
- Samantha Cosby
Co-organizers (3)
Samantha Cosby
Organizer
Sherkston, ON
Dawn Cosby
Co-organizer
Shannon Marr
Co-organizer