Help Rameen Rebuild His Life

Dear Friends, Family, Colleagues and Loved Ones of Rameen (Michael) Aminzadeh,

For those of you who haven’t heard what we’re about to share, we apologize - this isn’t easy news to hear.

On the evening of December 12, after believing he had a stomach flu that wasn’t getting better, Rameen was discovered at home in septic shock, barely alive. After a traumatic couple of hours with EMTs in his apartment trying to keep him alive, he was brought to Mt Sinai Morningside Hospital. Medical teams had to revive him three times over night - they thought they lost him many times over the next few hours but he kept fighting. However, tragically, the infection was too far gone, and the next morning both of his legs had to be fully amputated.

For the next two weeks through Christmas, a small group of family and friends kept vigil as Rameen remained in a coma while more than a dozen operations were performed on his legs, arms and hands to save his life and to stop the sepsis from spreading. Numerous life saving measures were employed and we almost lost him many times.

On December 26, Rameen finally and miraculously woke up. We say miraculously because his many doctors - from his orthopedic team, vascular team, critical care team and infectious disease team - all used the word “miracle” over the next few months to describe Rameen’s physical progress. For the first few weeks after waking up, he was so weak he could not speak, and his breathing was deeply affected by the trauma so he had to have a tracheostomy.

Throughout this nightmare, Rameen has remained remarkably positive and looking forward to having a meaningful and impactful life. In fact, he was able to move back home to his apartment in Harlem in March, weeks before his doctors thought that would be possible, and with the extraordinary help of his mother, he's becoming more self-sufficient every day.

But these next steps are going to be difficult. Made even more difficult by political storms affecting Medicaid, Social Security and Disability. He's already dealing with cuts to his physical and occupational therapy, and to his pain meds. The path to getting him the support and resources he needs has already been complicated but we now have set up a Special Needs Trust, administered by his mother, which this GoFundMe will go to.

We are hopeful that with dedicated therapy, Rameen will regain full use of his hands and arms, and be able to have a fruitful career editing, but right now working is not possible. We would like to raise $30,000 to cover costs that include but aren’t limited to, legal support, rent and food for 4-6 months, certain assistive support, small renovation to his apartment.

There are so many important causes, and people who are suffering, and so much heaviness around us - but we hope you will please give what you can. If you know Rameen (Michael), you know he is one of the most generous, warm-hearted and supportive friends one could have. He has given so much to so many - we hope you can help us help him in his time of need.

Thank you so much for anything you can do to help.

With love,

the family and friends of Rameen Michael Aminzadeh