As many of you know, Nick and I recently realized a dream. We packed up our entire life in San Diego and moved to Jalisco, Mexico, to become homesteaders. Nick transitioned out of his job in the United States to work full-time on the family ranch, and I continue to work remotely. During the transitional period, Nick was without insurance and unfortunately suffered an accident at the farm. Initially, it seemed minor, with only some bumps and bruises. But two weeks later, Nick began having issues with his vision in his good eye. Within the course of 48 hours, Nick lost vision in his left eye. We had to make some fast decisions. Should we look for a specialized ophthalmologist in Mexico, or should we fly back to San Diego to the ophthalmologist who had performed several surgeries on Nick's right eye over the last two years. After speaking with the ophthalmologist in San Diego on Sunday, March 6th, we decided to purchase tickets to return to San Diego that evening in anticipation of an early appointment the next day.

We met with Dr. Hanneken on Monday morning, and within a few moments of her looking at Nicks's eye, she told us that there was a large tear in the retina and the retina started to detach, causing his blindness. Dr. Hanneken stated that Nick needed emergency surgery to repair the detached retina. We needed to decide whether to try and file for emergency Medi-Cal and wait for approval, risking permanent blindness, or move forward with surgery with Dr. Hanneken. We decided it was in Nick's best interest to proceed with surgery with Dr. Hanneken the following day.

We are now three days post-op, the planned 2-hour surgery turned into a 4-hour surgery, and Nick's retina ended up having five separate tears. Dr. Hanneken repaired the tears, placed a buckle around the retina and eye to keep the retina attached and filled Nick's eye with a gas bubble which will take one month to dissolve.

We now have hospital and surgical bills in excess of $10,000 that will continue to grow with follow-up appointments and additional doctors appointments planned. For those in San Diego wanting to see Nick, unfortunately, due to the buckle placed in his eye, his equilibrium is off, and he is experiencing lots of nausea so he spends most of his day resting. If you would like to contact Nick, please send a voice text as he is unable to read anything on his cellphone.

We humbly appreciate any and all help/positive vibes/prayers during this challenging time. Nick has his second post-op appointment next Thursday; we will update you all then.

Thank you all,

Victor & Nick