Help My Dad Back on His Feet!
Donation protected
We are raising money for our father, Tim Love. Tim is a father of two, and husband of Sandi. He has a loving grandson, who he would love more than anything to take on the baseball diamond. He is the proprietor of Love That Music! in Kernersville, North Carolina and has been a staple of the Kernersville community for over a decade. Tim has been active in the Kernersville community, sponsoring music at the Factory, local venues, and annually for the Spring Folly since 2008. After a recent major setback we are trying to raise funds for a hip replacement.
For a couple years Tim has been diagnosed with End Stage Avascular Necrosis of the Right Hip (bit.ly/AVNecrosis) the damage has gone untreated and is progressing into the left hip. As the disease has progressed, the pain has worsened greatly, and all the joint cartilage has worn away, leaving a highly painful bone-on-bone condition that makes it difficult for him to walk and perform even the simplest tasks. At this point, too the grinding of bone on bone his right leg is over a full inch shorter than his left. This has caused compensation in his gait causing degenerative cartilage damage in his right knee that also needs repair. As many know and have seen, he has been experiencing degenerative symptoms for near half a decade or more. Since 2013 dad has been without health insurance.
In May, 2018 he went to see a local orthopedic surgeon in Kernersville. Upon examination of his x-rays the surgeon exclaimed “That’s terrible! How do you walk?” The surgeon commented that the disease had progressed to end-stage, and that joint breakage was a high possibility. The surgeon informed dad at that time that he and Novant Health partnered with a national charity organization called Operation Walk USA. The doctor also informed that he was Novant’s representative to the charity and that he needed a candidate to put forward for 2018. The doctor took one look at dad’s X-Rays and upon seeing the severity of the decay, told him “you’re my candidate this year.” Surgery was scheduled for the week of December 3, 2018, and in the words of the surgeon “if you make it until December”. Dad was referred to the office manager, emails and cell phone numbers were exchanged, and the process toward a hip replacement appeared to be initiating. However, after two months only silence was received from Novant. Dad followed up with Novant, finally to be informed that Novant would not be participating with the charity due to “all the sign-offs required from the higher-ups". This was a devastating blow to the family having the solution ripped from our hands. This was ultimately the last straw as all hope for getting back to mobility seemed to be fading quickly.
Since this turn of events dad has resorted to using a cane to assist walking. Most days at the store are more than he can bare. Facing pain that would make normal men weep, he refuses to take strong painkillers, only on a strict regimen of Ibuprofen to help take the edge off. However, despite this, he can barely climb into most any car to drive. On long drives the pain causes him to pull over so he can stretch out. These are things most folks do not see when they come into the store because he is hell-bent on keeping things normal.
The money from this fundraiser will go to helping replace Tim’s hip. Right now he is in contact with the Costa Rica Medical Tourism board. This is a JCI recognized hospital specializing in procedures such as this. The cost is lower, thus more feasible for folks in situations. (A lot of employers have started sending their folks here for services too) Any surplus funds will be used for sending a helper (one of kids) with him as proxy in case god-forbid that is needed. Anything beyond that will be used either for knee surgery OR to help pay it forward to someone else in need.
We just all want to see Tim back on his feet and your help either in sharing or contributing is the blessing we need!
For a couple years Tim has been diagnosed with End Stage Avascular Necrosis of the Right Hip (bit.ly/AVNecrosis) the damage has gone untreated and is progressing into the left hip. As the disease has progressed, the pain has worsened greatly, and all the joint cartilage has worn away, leaving a highly painful bone-on-bone condition that makes it difficult for him to walk and perform even the simplest tasks. At this point, too the grinding of bone on bone his right leg is over a full inch shorter than his left. This has caused compensation in his gait causing degenerative cartilage damage in his right knee that also needs repair. As many know and have seen, he has been experiencing degenerative symptoms for near half a decade or more. Since 2013 dad has been without health insurance.
In May, 2018 he went to see a local orthopedic surgeon in Kernersville. Upon examination of his x-rays the surgeon exclaimed “That’s terrible! How do you walk?” The surgeon commented that the disease had progressed to end-stage, and that joint breakage was a high possibility. The surgeon informed dad at that time that he and Novant Health partnered with a national charity organization called Operation Walk USA. The doctor also informed that he was Novant’s representative to the charity and that he needed a candidate to put forward for 2018. The doctor took one look at dad’s X-Rays and upon seeing the severity of the decay, told him “you’re my candidate this year.” Surgery was scheduled for the week of December 3, 2018, and in the words of the surgeon “if you make it until December”. Dad was referred to the office manager, emails and cell phone numbers were exchanged, and the process toward a hip replacement appeared to be initiating. However, after two months only silence was received from Novant. Dad followed up with Novant, finally to be informed that Novant would not be participating with the charity due to “all the sign-offs required from the higher-ups". This was a devastating blow to the family having the solution ripped from our hands. This was ultimately the last straw as all hope for getting back to mobility seemed to be fading quickly.
Since this turn of events dad has resorted to using a cane to assist walking. Most days at the store are more than he can bare. Facing pain that would make normal men weep, he refuses to take strong painkillers, only on a strict regimen of Ibuprofen to help take the edge off. However, despite this, he can barely climb into most any car to drive. On long drives the pain causes him to pull over so he can stretch out. These are things most folks do not see when they come into the store because he is hell-bent on keeping things normal.
The money from this fundraiser will go to helping replace Tim’s hip. Right now he is in contact with the Costa Rica Medical Tourism board. This is a JCI recognized hospital specializing in procedures such as this. The cost is lower, thus more feasible for folks in situations. (A lot of employers have started sending their folks here for services too) Any surplus funds will be used for sending a helper (one of kids) with him as proxy in case god-forbid that is needed. Anything beyond that will be used either for knee surgery OR to help pay it forward to someone else in need.
We just all want to see Tim back on his feet and your help either in sharing or contributing is the blessing we need!
Organizer
Nathan Love
Organizer
Kernersville, NC
