After months of progressive, severe back pain, my husband was unable to stand independently on Christmas Eve morning. Our 13-year-old daughter helped me get him into the car, and I took him to the emergency room. After many hours of severe pain in the emergency waiting room, he was finally seen by a physician and admitted to the hospital for sepsis. Many days, many doctors, and many blood tests, CT scans, MRIs, and a vertebral disc biopsy later, they determined the infection started in the disc between T4 and T5 of his spinal column and had spread to the T4 vertebrae. Because he has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the infectious disease specialist wanted him to complete eight weeks of IV antibiotics to clear the infection. The neurosurgery team wanted him to wait at least four weeks before discussing the spinal fusion surgery he would need to stop the progression of weakness and pain.
After 14 days in the hospital, he was discharged home with a PICC line to continue IV antibiotics as an outpatient. After nine days staying with grandparents, I was able to bring our three and 13-year-old daughters back home. Less than a week later, I had to call 911 because my husband was in such severe pain he couldn’t move in bed. He was transported by ambulance back to the hospital. Less than 36 hours after being readmitted, he started losing functioning in his left leg and foot. Due to this, the neurosurgeons decided not to wait for him to finish his IV antibiotics before doing surgery, despite the risks. A couple of days later, two of the best neurosurgeons in central Iowa completed a 7.5-hour, three-level spinal fusion surgery. Almost immediately after waking, my husband reported the severe debilitating pain was gone, though he still has lingering loss of functioning.
As a self-employed contractor, he has been unable to work for an extended period, and I am a nurse who had to take three months off to care for him and our two children. This meant we had no income for months, and we have fallen behind on all our bills, including our mortgage and car payments.
All donations will go toward catching up on our mortgage, car payments, utility bills, and medical bills. Over half of my paychecks for the next few months will be used to pay back insurance premiums to my employer, so we are struggling to cover basic expenses. Although day-to-day life is slowly getting back to normal, the financial and emotional impact of the last few months has been very hard on our family, and will continue to affect us for many months, if not years. My husband is a contractor and does construction work, and because of the continuing effects from the loss of functioning in his leg, we are unsure if he will ever be able to do the work he has loved for the last 40+ years again.
Thank you for reading our story. Any amount of support, including thoughts, prayers, and sharing our story, is appreciated. Your kindness means the world to us as we try to rebuild and move forward.
After 14 days in the hospital, he was discharged home with a PICC line to continue IV antibiotics as an outpatient. After nine days staying with grandparents, I was able to bring our three and 13-year-old daughters back home. Less than a week later, I had to call 911 because my husband was in such severe pain he couldn’t move in bed. He was transported by ambulance back to the hospital. Less than 36 hours after being readmitted, he started losing functioning in his left leg and foot. Due to this, the neurosurgeons decided not to wait for him to finish his IV antibiotics before doing surgery, despite the risks. A couple of days later, two of the best neurosurgeons in central Iowa completed a 7.5-hour, three-level spinal fusion surgery. Almost immediately after waking, my husband reported the severe debilitating pain was gone, though he still has lingering loss of functioning.
As a self-employed contractor, he has been unable to work for an extended period, and I am a nurse who had to take three months off to care for him and our two children. This meant we had no income for months, and we have fallen behind on all our bills, including our mortgage and car payments.
All donations will go toward catching up on our mortgage, car payments, utility bills, and medical bills. Over half of my paychecks for the next few months will be used to pay back insurance premiums to my employer, so we are struggling to cover basic expenses. Although day-to-day life is slowly getting back to normal, the financial and emotional impact of the last few months has been very hard on our family, and will continue to affect us for many months, if not years. My husband is a contractor and does construction work, and because of the continuing effects from the loss of functioning in his leg, we are unsure if he will ever be able to do the work he has loved for the last 40+ years again.
Thank you for reading our story. Any amount of support, including thoughts, prayers, and sharing our story, is appreciated. Your kindness means the world to us as we try to rebuild and move forward.