- T
My Dad, Percy, is one of the hardest workers I know. On Thursday February 6th, Neurosurgeons at Swedish hospital will attempt major spine surgery in an effort to save functionality in his right leg.
This surgery is the latest in a culmination of health issues over the past 3 years.
In July of 2017, Dad was diagnosed with an aggressive Lymphoma caused by medicine he took for his arthritis. He was under heavy chemo from July 17’ to January 18’ and took a leave of absence from work. Upon completing chemo (and beating cancer!), Dad, true to his nature, went right back to work. However, because he had to stop taking his arthritis medicine, the arthritis came back with a vengeance in his feet in May 18’ effectively grounding him for another 5 months. After working with doctors to find a suitable medicine replacement, Dad was able to go back to work in September of 2018.
However, just 4 months later in January 2019, Dad started to have numbness in both of his legs along with severe nerve pain and he quickly began losing functionality and difficulty walking.
In order to save the nerves in his legs, he went in for major spine fusion surgery in March 19’ with 7 months of required rehab.
The surgery appeared to work, and the long rehab went well. However in October of 2019, Dad’s right leg began rapidly declining again nearing paralysis. He now has zero feeling in his right leg, zero strength/balance, and his leg is cold to the touch (close to zero circulation).
We’ve been working with some of the best Neurologists and Neurosurgeons in Seattle to try and determine why this happened. At this point the doctors believe that the first surgery failed due to the bone not growing (possibly due to his cancer treatment history) and that immediate corrective actions need to be undertaken.
This is a scary situation because if it doesn’t work, there is a good chance it will be career ending for my Dad. Without strong leg function, it is very hard (and unsafe) to do his job as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines.
In order for this surgery to have the best chance of working, Dad will need to take another 6-8 months off of work to recover and hope the fusion stays in place and work on (hopefully) rehabilitating his spine.
With this surgery my family is in a hard place financially.
The past 3 years the combination of cancer treatments, spine surgery, tests, doctor visits have all racked up well over $800,000 in medical bills. And this isn’t including the fact that Dad has only been able to work 11 out of the past 35 months. Thankfully through a combination of God, medical insurance, and selling property, we’ve been able to pull through.
However, with Alaska Airlines having not yet approved his requested leave for this surgery, along with the $200,000+ surgery bill, 6-8 months of needed rehab, and many doctor trips to Seattle (2 hour trip for my parents) my family is struggling to bear the financial costs to get by.
My family has always been very big on being “self-sufficient”, and through the grace of God we’ve managed to make it through the past 3 years. We are unsure about how the next 8-12 months will go given the ever increasing financial pressure and my Dad’s inability to work. Likewise, even if Dad recovers, we are unsure if Alaska Airlines will let him keep his job after he recovers (he has worked there for 32+ years).
In light of this reality, we are humbly asking for the financial support of our community, family, and friends. The past three years we have been so thankful for all of your prayers, acts of service, meals, and encouragement. Whatever you can financially give we are very thankful for!
Any money you give will go towards covering the costs of the surgery, rehab, and any follow up care, as well as to help offset the living expense gap that will exist while my Dad has to take time off of work.
Thank you for reading our story, thank you for sharing it, and thank you for any amount you are willing to give.
-Britt
This surgery is the latest in a culmination of health issues over the past 3 years.
In July of 2017, Dad was diagnosed with an aggressive Lymphoma caused by medicine he took for his arthritis. He was under heavy chemo from July 17’ to January 18’ and took a leave of absence from work. Upon completing chemo (and beating cancer!), Dad, true to his nature, went right back to work. However, because he had to stop taking his arthritis medicine, the arthritis came back with a vengeance in his feet in May 18’ effectively grounding him for another 5 months. After working with doctors to find a suitable medicine replacement, Dad was able to go back to work in September of 2018.
However, just 4 months later in January 2019, Dad started to have numbness in both of his legs along with severe nerve pain and he quickly began losing functionality and difficulty walking.
In order to save the nerves in his legs, he went in for major spine fusion surgery in March 19’ with 7 months of required rehab.
The surgery appeared to work, and the long rehab went well. However in October of 2019, Dad’s right leg began rapidly declining again nearing paralysis. He now has zero feeling in his right leg, zero strength/balance, and his leg is cold to the touch (close to zero circulation).
We’ve been working with some of the best Neurologists and Neurosurgeons in Seattle to try and determine why this happened. At this point the doctors believe that the first surgery failed due to the bone not growing (possibly due to his cancer treatment history) and that immediate corrective actions need to be undertaken.
This is a scary situation because if it doesn’t work, there is a good chance it will be career ending for my Dad. Without strong leg function, it is very hard (and unsafe) to do his job as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines.
In order for this surgery to have the best chance of working, Dad will need to take another 6-8 months off of work to recover and hope the fusion stays in place and work on (hopefully) rehabilitating his spine.
With this surgery my family is in a hard place financially.
The past 3 years the combination of cancer treatments, spine surgery, tests, doctor visits have all racked up well over $800,000 in medical bills. And this isn’t including the fact that Dad has only been able to work 11 out of the past 35 months. Thankfully through a combination of God, medical insurance, and selling property, we’ve been able to pull through.
However, with Alaska Airlines having not yet approved his requested leave for this surgery, along with the $200,000+ surgery bill, 6-8 months of needed rehab, and many doctor trips to Seattle (2 hour trip for my parents) my family is struggling to bear the financial costs to get by.
My family has always been very big on being “self-sufficient”, and through the grace of God we’ve managed to make it through the past 3 years. We are unsure about how the next 8-12 months will go given the ever increasing financial pressure and my Dad’s inability to work. Likewise, even if Dad recovers, we are unsure if Alaska Airlines will let him keep his job after he recovers (he has worked there for 32+ years).
In light of this reality, we are humbly asking for the financial support of our community, family, and friends. The past three years we have been so thankful for all of your prayers, acts of service, meals, and encouragement. Whatever you can financially give we are very thankful for!
Any money you give will go towards covering the costs of the surgery, rehab, and any follow up care, as well as to help offset the living expense gap that will exist while my Dad has to take time off of work.
Thank you for reading our story, thank you for sharing it, and thank you for any amount you are willing to give.
-Britt