Mandolin Hooper's Rehab & Recovery

Mandolin Hooper has been wrestling the demons of alcoholism and depression for many years now. Only those nearest to him know how close he came to suicide this year. In a desperate attempt to shake things up, he moved to Texas in August of 2019, not knowing what else to do. 

I do not know what was the final straw. I only know that, after years of encouraging him to get treatment for his addiction and depression, I got a call from him saying he'd found a detox & rehab program and wanted to go. Wow. That was the call I'd been wishing for.

Mandolin entered detox on Dec 5th, 2019. Within 24 hours he was in ICU for alcohol withdrawal. Released after four days, he seemed to be recovering when he then had a seizure. An ER visit and many tests later, he was released and told it was most likely just another withdrawal side effect.

As of today, Dec 21, he is 17 days sober and doing well. He is in the residential program at Recovery Unplugged, a unique music-based treatment program. Therapy, group meetings, psychiatry, and a 24/7 environment of music and support. He is exactly where he needs to be.

He is also uninsured and jobless. Not to mention he's a bartender :-/

The cost for his residential treatment is $4000 a week. We anticipate Manny will need 5 weeks of residential, with one month of intensive outpatient afterward, at $3800 per month.  The total cost for just his rehab is $23,800.

I have applied Mando to medicaid in Texas and am hopeful they will pay his ER and ICU expenses. I'm not concerned about that portion at this point.

My urgent concern is having enough money to keep him in residential and outpatient rehab as long as he needs. With no insurance, 100% of his treatment is being paid for out of pocket by just me and my folks so far, and needs to be paid upfront. The rehab has generously allowed me to make weekly payments rather than monthly, as they typically do.  

As you may know, Manny was born with severe problems with his legs and feet. The docs didn't know whether he'd ever walk or need amputation. He needed many surgeries, his first at just 2.5 months of age. When children his age were walking, my son was Army-crawling his way through the world, dragging around 5 pounds of plaster and dead weight. This kid is used to struggle. He was born into it. And I'm used to fighting right alongside him. But this alcoholism and depression has been a giant weight on both of us. And not something I've been able to help with, because it's his battle to fight - not mine.

He's finally fighting it now though. I'm grateful and heartened. And I'll do everything possible to support him in this effort. Anything you can do to help out is deeply appreciated.   

Thank you in advance for your urgent donation at this critical time. Thank you!

~Mando's mom