Lets Help Ben Get His Legs Back

Benjamin Brighton is a smart, self-employed, hard-working man who, like most of us, hoped 2022 would be far better than 2021. Instead, 2022 has started horribly for him. On January 5, Ben was diagnosed with a neurological disorder and is expected to be out of work for months. He's in a situation that no self-employed person wants to face, and he will need financial and in-kind assistance to get out of it.

Ben sustained a brain injury in March 2021, which turned his body clock upside down and made it difficult for him to work consistently. In the last days of the old year, he began experiencing searing, systemic pain, numbness and weakness in his limbs, abnormal sensory issues and other disturbances, all probably unrelated to the earlier brain injury (but initially hard to diagnose given the complicated symptoms). Combining the underlying long term symptoms of the previous injury and the new more severe symptoms, he began to lose the ability to ambulate independently and provide care for himself in general.

After a nightmare experience with four visits to two hospitals trying to get treatment, his PCP finally was able to admit him to Portsmouth, NH, Hospital. (Could the fact that he’s a Medicaid patient have influenced decisions to turn him out untreated in the early morning hours from these other local facilities?)

After two MRIs and a spinal tap at Portsmouth Hospital, Ben was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, a swelling of the spinal cord that if left unchecked can lead to paralysis. And those two other unnamed hospitals did their best to leave the condition unchecked,.

He is responding well to treatments now, however, his recovery is going to take time. Regaining use of his lower limbs and other bodily functions is not fully guaranteed, and is dependent on his body's response to treatments over time. He's been a real estate appraiser for more than 20 years, a job that requires lots of time driving to and from people's houses to provide estimated values. Walking, nevermind driving, is not in the cards at this time.

Meanwhile, he has a mortgage on his home, utilities to pay and other household expenses to consider. Even before his recent health crises, his house in Somersworth, NH, needed work. Now, it needs more.

Some of the work will be easy, like rearranging the house into a one-floor layout. The house will need a small ramp from the driveway to the deck and handrails in the bathroom. And, of course, unexpected things will arise.

Some of the work is major, for example repairs to or replacement of the heating system, roof repairs and plumbing repairs.

Those of us who know and love Ben want to make his house a comfortable home as he recovers. Clearly that will take money. For those of you who live in the area and have carpentry, plumbing, electrical or similar skills, donations of time are also welcomed.

Thank you for helping Ben get his life back!

If you would like to donate but are not comfortable donating through this forum, please do not hesitate to reach out and other arrangements can be made to suit your needs.

Everyone that is able to support Ben is appreciated and our love goes out to you <3