Help the Tanner's dream come true

Chris and I have been married for 21 years. From the beginning, we had a dream that once the kids were grown, we would buy an RV to live in. We wanted to downsize & simplify. Working less, traveling more, and just being together. Before Chris got sick, we were at the precipice of that next chapter in our lives. We had just become empty-nesters, and we had very clear plans.  

His sudden illness, months long hospitalization, the long road to recovery, and his resulting disability, have derailed those plans. Having to live on one income has drastically changed our financial picture, and has made our dreams of RV living, seem quite out of reach. This goal of this fund raising campaign is to raise money to go toward the purchase of our RV. For those of you that don't know Chris's story, here's a screenshot...

By early 2020, all 3 of our kids had moved out on their own, and Chris and I could see the next phase of our lives on the horizon, right in front of us. We hoped to purchase and be living in our RV full time, before 2021 arrived. Things were lining up just as we had planned…. There's some famous last words for you…. On March 16th of that year, Chris was admitted to the hospital with strep pneumonia. He was rarely ever sick, and right away this seemed serious. He was admitted on a Monday. By Wednesday he'd become septic. He was suffering major organ failure, requiring 24/7 dialysis, had a heart attack, was transferred to the ICU, and placed on a vent. For several days, the doctors told me that I needed to be prepared for the worst. They were not expecting Chris to survive. It felt like a bad dream that I couldn't wake up from.

Luckily, Chris is a fighter, to the surprise of the medical staff, over the next week, he began to slowly improve. Once we felt confident that he was going to pull through, happiness and relief were met with fear and shock. A couple of the medications that are often given to save the life of a septic patient, restrict circulation to the extremities. The blood had stopped flowing to Chris's hands and feet for too long, and they had begun to die. By the time he was out of the woods, the damage was done, and it was irreversible. He woke up after 10 days on life support to learn that he was going to need some degree of amputations on all 4 limbs. 

After 3 months, 5 surgeries, extensive wound care, and lots of PT/OT sessions, Chris finally came home. He'd lost his left hand (at the wrist), half of each finger on his right hand, all 10 toes along with half of each foot. 

This took place during the first few weeks of Covid, so the hospital had been shut down to visitors. I couldn't be by his side when he first woke up, or learned that he would be an amputee, before any of the surgeries, or when he woke up in the recovery room. He went through all of that alone.

 

18 months have passed since that terrifying first week in the hospital. Chris has come incredibly far in that time, and has made great strides in reclaiming his life. There are still difficult days as anyone would expect. Chris is the kind of guy that likes to "work with his hands" as they say. He's a drummer, he repairs and builds bikes, he fixes our cars when needed, etc. The loss of one hand, and the physical change that has occurred with the other, has made what used to be simple tasks, often very frustrating for him.

The most troubling change that's happened is that Chris has

been unable to return to work. For over 20 years, he built a career in land surveying and drafting. The physical requirements of the job are no longer realistic for him to manage. To add salt to the wound, the guidelines for disability benefits require that a person be disabled for 2 years before they can apply to collect social security. This means that all the financial burden has fallen on me, and Chris hates that.  

We carry a great deal of anxiety about what the future holds. If things had gone as we had planned, we'd be living in our RV by now. That would mean that we wouldn't have to worry about rising rent costs, or living on one income. Our living expenses would be stable and affordable. Our worries about money, and specifically our housing situation, is a reminder to Chris that he's not able to contribute financially to our household right now. That wears on him. I see it, even if he doesn't talk about it very much. 

Realistically, if we're going to get to a place that we can manage things, and not have to live with anxiety about making ends meet, we're going to need some help. That's why I've started this GoFundMe campaign. I want to show Chris that our dreams can still come true, even if it's in a way we weren't expecting.

I want to take a moment to thank each of you for reading our story. To those of you that were along for the ride as this was happening to us, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. If you're able to help now by donating to our cause, I am forever grateful. Those that are not in a position to donate, I completely understand! You can still help us to reach our goal by sharing Chris's story online, and posting the link to our page anywhere others might see it and take interest. 

As I mentioned earlier, I want to try to do this somewhat quietly. I would like to surprise Chris in December with whatever funds we can raise in 2 months. There's no need for dishonesty, but if we could NOT make it a point to bring this to his attention, it would be greatly appreciated. When I do share it with him, I intend to make a video of the reveal and share it here. Good surprises are so much fun to watch, and after all, none of it would be possible without all of you. So thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity.