Justin's Worst Christmas Ever #GiantHospitalBill
Donation protected
We've all heard of the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Well, Christmas 2020 is going down as the bookend of Justin's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Year.
Let me start out by telling you this fundraiser is a secret. Neither Justin or Natalie are aware this fundraiser exists. Elise and I are only sharing this with very close friends and family, so PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT share this on social media.
Everyone knows 2020 has been a super sucky year for so many people all over the world. The Lea family, like so many others, has been hit particularly hard financially. As a self-employed, small-business owner, Justin's business came to a crashing halt when the pandemic lockdown hit TX. Suddenly, nobody was hiring him to build & transport custom gymnastics equipment! Nobody was even going to the gym, let alone buying new equipment.
With Justin now unemployed, Natalie now having to work 100% from home & 2 very young daughters no longer able to go to preschool (which they were still paying for), he was thrust into his new role as a Stay-At-Home-Dad. Yes, there are some hidden benefits to spending more time with your little girls... but there's also a ton of stress that comes with it.
After a few months, Justin started having frequent stomach aches. He didn't think too much of it, as he assumed it was a combo of stress & perhaps a bit too much quarantine snacking. Besides, he's always been a pretty healthy dude & it's nothing a little Pepto can't fix... wrong!
Fast forward to Christmas morning, Justin wakes up with another really bad stomach ache. After a few hours, it became clear something was VERY wrong! He began vomiting blood & his nose started bleeding. Despite the very real risk of COVID exposure, Natalie took him to the ER & he was quickly admitted. He was disoriented, lethargic, not communicating clearly, and his vitals were extremely worrisome.
He was given IV fluids & received multiple blood transfusions, but his vitals continued to worsen. The next morning he went into surgery & they determined he had a bleeding ulcer as well as an esophageal hernia. In the hours that followed, he developed a post-op fever, his blood pressure was on the rise & his hemoglobin levels were dropping. Not good!
Over the next 2 days he received multiple additional blood transfusions & medications until he was finally stable enough for discharge. Thank GOD Natalie took him to the ER when she did, and God bless all the doctors & nurses who saved his life. This was definitely the #WorstChristmasEver for our family.
Here's the kicker... Justin doesn't have insurance! Natalie added him to her plan through her employer during open enrollment, but that coverage starts on Jan 1st! The hospital bill is HUGE! I'm talking over $55K huge, and that doesn't include the bill from the anesthesiologist!
If you are willing & able, please consider contributing to offset some of the financial burden they're facing. They HAVE NO IDEA we've set up this fundraiser, so please keep this on the down low. Let's pay it forward in a big way & shine a little silver lining on 2020 for the Lea's.
If you aren't able to give financially, please keep them in your prayers. This is just the beginning of a very long road to recovery.
Wishing you all love, health & blessings in the new year!
Heather Lea Hamby (Justin's sister) & Elise Zindorf Ford (Natalie's sister)
Let me start out by telling you this fundraiser is a secret. Neither Justin or Natalie are aware this fundraiser exists. Elise and I are only sharing this with very close friends and family, so PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT share this on social media.
Everyone knows 2020 has been a super sucky year for so many people all over the world. The Lea family, like so many others, has been hit particularly hard financially. As a self-employed, small-business owner, Justin's business came to a crashing halt when the pandemic lockdown hit TX. Suddenly, nobody was hiring him to build & transport custom gymnastics equipment! Nobody was even going to the gym, let alone buying new equipment.
With Justin now unemployed, Natalie now having to work 100% from home & 2 very young daughters no longer able to go to preschool (which they were still paying for), he was thrust into his new role as a Stay-At-Home-Dad. Yes, there are some hidden benefits to spending more time with your little girls... but there's also a ton of stress that comes with it.
After a few months, Justin started having frequent stomach aches. He didn't think too much of it, as he assumed it was a combo of stress & perhaps a bit too much quarantine snacking. Besides, he's always been a pretty healthy dude & it's nothing a little Pepto can't fix... wrong!
Fast forward to Christmas morning, Justin wakes up with another really bad stomach ache. After a few hours, it became clear something was VERY wrong! He began vomiting blood & his nose started bleeding. Despite the very real risk of COVID exposure, Natalie took him to the ER & he was quickly admitted. He was disoriented, lethargic, not communicating clearly, and his vitals were extremely worrisome.
He was given IV fluids & received multiple blood transfusions, but his vitals continued to worsen. The next morning he went into surgery & they determined he had a bleeding ulcer as well as an esophageal hernia. In the hours that followed, he developed a post-op fever, his blood pressure was on the rise & his hemoglobin levels were dropping. Not good!
Over the next 2 days he received multiple additional blood transfusions & medications until he was finally stable enough for discharge. Thank GOD Natalie took him to the ER when she did, and God bless all the doctors & nurses who saved his life. This was definitely the #WorstChristmasEver for our family.
Here's the kicker... Justin doesn't have insurance! Natalie added him to her plan through her employer during open enrollment, but that coverage starts on Jan 1st! The hospital bill is HUGE! I'm talking over $55K huge, and that doesn't include the bill from the anesthesiologist!
If you are willing & able, please consider contributing to offset some of the financial burden they're facing. They HAVE NO IDEA we've set up this fundraiser, so please keep this on the down low. Let's pay it forward in a big way & shine a little silver lining on 2020 for the Lea's.
If you aren't able to give financially, please keep them in your prayers. This is just the beginning of a very long road to recovery.
Wishing you all love, health & blessings in the new year!
Heather Lea Hamby (Justin's sister) & Elise Zindorf Ford (Natalie's sister)
Co-organizers (2)
Heather Hamby
Organizer
Aubrey, TX
Elise Ford
Co-organizer