Help the Nellist Family with Ed's Medical Expenses
Donation protected
Ed Nellist is a life-long resident of Higgins Lake, Michigan. He is a veteran, worked for the State of Michigan for 30 years, a Roscommon County Commissioner for six years, a Township Supervisor for eight years (he retired last November), a family man, active community member, and a hiker, biker, camper, and boater, and fisherman. On February 9, 2021, Ed had a massive left-brain stroke, resulting in severe dysphagia, aphasia, apraxia, and right-side paralysis, and was transported to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. Dr. Gary Rajah performed an emergent left M1 thrombectomy, going into Ed’s brain to remove the clots to save every brain cell he could. This procedure took Ed from a level 25 stroke to a level 18. For the next ten days, Ed moved forward, chewing ice chips and pushing his affected foot against the doctor’s hand. Dr. Rajah was confident that Ed would bear weight on his right leg and eventually walk again. He thought this would take about four months with intense physical therapy.
On February 19, 2021, Ed was transported to the Kalkaska rehab center. The EMTs who were transporting him somehow lost control of his gurney. He rolled down a walkway and crashed into a snowbank. He sustained six broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and two days later, his family hovered over his body as the doctors told them that Ed would not live. For over 16 hours, his heart rate was at 145 beats per minute, his respiratory function over 100, and he could not expel C02 due to the severity of the injury to his ribs. The doctor said his arteries would eventually explode. By some miracle and with the diligence of the staff at Munson and Ed’s will, he survived. He was in ICU for three weeks and then on the stroke ward for another four days before being transported to a rehab center in Grayling, Michigan, on March 15, 2021.
With six broken ribs, two days into his rehab stay, and out of ICU, the insurance company called the family to inform them that they were looking at a release date of April 9. This would only give Ed, a massive stroke patient with six broken ribs, 20 days in rehab, besides the fact that he needed 24-hour medical care. The family was beside themselves, and Ed’s wife started fighting to keep him in the rehab center. After Ed’s crash into the snowbank, Dr. Rajah said his recovery, instead of four months, would now be a year. He lost six weeks of vital rehab due to the accident. Each week, the insurance company contacted the family to tell them they did not feel Ed was making enough progress, and the plan was to release him. Ed’s wife connected with Senator Stabenow and Representative Rendon's offices. She wrote letters to the CEO of Navi Health (the company deciding to kick Ed off rehab) and a letter to the CEO of Blue Cross. Senator Stabenow’s office did intervene, extending Ed's rehab stay for an additional three weeks. Ed then contracted pneumonia, which allowed him to stay in rehab for another couple of weeks. However, even though he still has time available on his policy of 100 days in skilled care, the insurance company is kicking him out. If the family wants to keep him in the skilled care he still drastically needs, it will cost them $312 per day to remain in skilled care at the facility. The therapists feel that Ed needs about 60 more days before he can safely come home, and at $312 a day, that is approximately $19,000. If the insurance company will not pay for rehab during that time, that will be at least an additional $10,000.
Ed is not in a position to safely come home yet. He uses a peg tube for feeding, and all his meds are crushed and put through this tube. He had a swallow test this past week, and the results showed he has a strong swallow function. The facility is beginning to reduce the peg tube feed and start administering a soft diet. Still, Ed needs to be monitored for a few more weeks so that he does not aspirate. He also has a low hemoglobin count at 8.2, and tests show he may have a stomach bleed. The doctors are ordering further tests to isolate the problem and fix it, but he cannot come home until these issues are addressed. Ed is making significant gains with therapy. He is now standing with help for two and a half minutes, and for the first time since he crashed, he pushed the foot of his paralyzed right leg against the therapist’s hand. The therapists feel that the leg is waking up but still needs intense therapy to maintain these gains and move forward and walk again. Even though Ed has a limited vocabulary, he understands everything. He knows everyone that comes to visit, and he has all of his memory. Ed is not a vegetable, but needs intense speech therapy to speak coherently to express his wants and needs adequately.
When he is making such significant gains, stopping now would be an injustice for all the pain and suffering Ed has endured over the last couple of months. He must stay in the rehab center for the next 60 days, certainly for his medical needs, but even more important is the need for intense therapy that will allow Ed to come home and have a normal life moving forward.
On February 19, 2021, Ed was transported to the Kalkaska rehab center. The EMTs who were transporting him somehow lost control of his gurney. He rolled down a walkway and crashed into a snowbank. He sustained six broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and two days later, his family hovered over his body as the doctors told them that Ed would not live. For over 16 hours, his heart rate was at 145 beats per minute, his respiratory function over 100, and he could not expel C02 due to the severity of the injury to his ribs. The doctor said his arteries would eventually explode. By some miracle and with the diligence of the staff at Munson and Ed’s will, he survived. He was in ICU for three weeks and then on the stroke ward for another four days before being transported to a rehab center in Grayling, Michigan, on March 15, 2021.
With six broken ribs, two days into his rehab stay, and out of ICU, the insurance company called the family to inform them that they were looking at a release date of April 9. This would only give Ed, a massive stroke patient with six broken ribs, 20 days in rehab, besides the fact that he needed 24-hour medical care. The family was beside themselves, and Ed’s wife started fighting to keep him in the rehab center. After Ed’s crash into the snowbank, Dr. Rajah said his recovery, instead of four months, would now be a year. He lost six weeks of vital rehab due to the accident. Each week, the insurance company contacted the family to tell them they did not feel Ed was making enough progress, and the plan was to release him. Ed’s wife connected with Senator Stabenow and Representative Rendon's offices. She wrote letters to the CEO of Navi Health (the company deciding to kick Ed off rehab) and a letter to the CEO of Blue Cross. Senator Stabenow’s office did intervene, extending Ed's rehab stay for an additional three weeks. Ed then contracted pneumonia, which allowed him to stay in rehab for another couple of weeks. However, even though he still has time available on his policy of 100 days in skilled care, the insurance company is kicking him out. If the family wants to keep him in the skilled care he still drastically needs, it will cost them $312 per day to remain in skilled care at the facility. The therapists feel that Ed needs about 60 more days before he can safely come home, and at $312 a day, that is approximately $19,000. If the insurance company will not pay for rehab during that time, that will be at least an additional $10,000.
Ed is not in a position to safely come home yet. He uses a peg tube for feeding, and all his meds are crushed and put through this tube. He had a swallow test this past week, and the results showed he has a strong swallow function. The facility is beginning to reduce the peg tube feed and start administering a soft diet. Still, Ed needs to be monitored for a few more weeks so that he does not aspirate. He also has a low hemoglobin count at 8.2, and tests show he may have a stomach bleed. The doctors are ordering further tests to isolate the problem and fix it, but he cannot come home until these issues are addressed. Ed is making significant gains with therapy. He is now standing with help for two and a half minutes, and for the first time since he crashed, he pushed the foot of his paralyzed right leg against the therapist’s hand. The therapists feel that the leg is waking up but still needs intense therapy to maintain these gains and move forward and walk again. Even though Ed has a limited vocabulary, he understands everything. He knows everyone that comes to visit, and he has all of his memory. Ed is not a vegetable, but needs intense speech therapy to speak coherently to express his wants and needs adequately.
When he is making such significant gains, stopping now would be an injustice for all the pain and suffering Ed has endured over the last couple of months. He must stay in the rehab center for the next 60 days, certainly for his medical needs, but even more important is the need for intense therapy that will allow Ed to come home and have a normal life moving forward.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kristen Jackson
Organizer
Roscommon, MI
Diane Nellist
Beneficiary