Help with Christie & Marvin's Medical Bills
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Two weeks ago, both of my parents were in a motorcycle accident. They were on their way home from visiting family and were hit by a car that immediately fled the scene, and the police still haven't found the driver. My mom, Christie, was taken to a hospital in Indiana and diagnosed with a series of traumatic injuries including a severely broken arm, 10 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a fractured neck. My dad, Marvin, was taken to a separate hospital because the one my mom was at could only accommodate one trauma patient. The hospital my dad was taken to could not effectively treat the severity of his injuries, so he was air lifted to a trauma center. When he arrived, they said he had a compound fracture in his arm, 4 severely broken ribs, and a head injury. He was unresponsive so they intubated him and put him on a ventilator. My mom was originally awake, so they inserted a chest tube to help with her lung and transported her to the trauma center so she would be in the same hospital as my dad.
Once at the trauma center, they were able to perform surgery on my dad - he had a rod inserted into his arm to repair the break, and chest wall reconstruction surgery where they did a rib plating procedure. He remained on the ventilator to rest and recover after his surgeries. They were preparing to do surgery on my mom and had to take her to get an MRI, while in the MRI she went into cardiac arrest and her heart stopped. They were able to get her heart started again, but as a result had to intubate her and place her on a ventilator. Soon after this they discovered she also had a brain bleed.
About a week later, my dad was still unresponsive and they worried about long term damage from the intubation, so they performed another surgery to remove the tube and replace it with a tracheostomy and a feeding tube directly into his stomach. In the days after they discovered an issue with his kidneys which they are now treating in hopes that this will help him become more responsive.
My mom has become more stable and while she is still intubated, she is responding to commands and opening her eyes. Right now they are working with the neuro team to come up with a surgical plan to repair her neck in hopes that this will make her more stable and they can then repair her arm as well.
The hardest part in all of this, which makes things even worse, is that due to COVID we aren't allowed to go visit them, so they are there alone, and we are relying on daily updates from the busy staff at the hospital.
Both of my parents still have a long recovery ahead, but they are making strides every day. My brother and I are doing our best to take care of things for them while they focus on getting better, but we know once they physically recover, they will need financial help to pay back their significant medical bills. If you feel compelled and are able, please donate to their medical fund - any amount at all will go a long way to help them on their road to recovery.
We appreciate all of the love and support from friends, family, and their community and want to thank you all.
-Melissa and Ryan
Once at the trauma center, they were able to perform surgery on my dad - he had a rod inserted into his arm to repair the break, and chest wall reconstruction surgery where they did a rib plating procedure. He remained on the ventilator to rest and recover after his surgeries. They were preparing to do surgery on my mom and had to take her to get an MRI, while in the MRI she went into cardiac arrest and her heart stopped. They were able to get her heart started again, but as a result had to intubate her and place her on a ventilator. Soon after this they discovered she also had a brain bleed.
About a week later, my dad was still unresponsive and they worried about long term damage from the intubation, so they performed another surgery to remove the tube and replace it with a tracheostomy and a feeding tube directly into his stomach. In the days after they discovered an issue with his kidneys which they are now treating in hopes that this will help him become more responsive.
My mom has become more stable and while she is still intubated, she is responding to commands and opening her eyes. Right now they are working with the neuro team to come up with a surgical plan to repair her neck in hopes that this will make her more stable and they can then repair her arm as well.
The hardest part in all of this, which makes things even worse, is that due to COVID we aren't allowed to go visit them, so they are there alone, and we are relying on daily updates from the busy staff at the hospital.
Both of my parents still have a long recovery ahead, but they are making strides every day. My brother and I are doing our best to take care of things for them while they focus on getting better, but we know once they physically recover, they will need financial help to pay back their significant medical bills. If you feel compelled and are able, please donate to their medical fund - any amount at all will go a long way to help them on their road to recovery.
We appreciate all of the love and support from friends, family, and their community and want to thank you all.
-Melissa and Ryan
Organizer
Melissa Harkins
Organizer
Lemont, IL
