medical bills

On March 30th of 2011, I walked into UMass Memorial Hospital for an ACL surgery due to an injury I sustained playing NCAA Ice Hockey for Nichols College. Little did I know, a surgery that has a success rate of 95% in terms of returning to highly competitive sports, would turn my life upside down. At the ripe age of 21, I was abruptly forced into a battle for my life along with $500,000 in medical bills. With any type of surgery, the chance of developing an infection is approximately 1%. It never crossed my mind that I would be one of those patients. After my operation, I was eager to begin physical therapy with my athletic trainers in order to be fully recovered for my upcoming senior year of hockey season. However, three weeks later, I was still not able to complete exercises that are normally successfully done several days after the surgery. On May 1st of 2011, I reported back to UMass Memorial Hospital for an emergency inpatient operation with a desperate attempt to treat a severe Staph Infection that developed inside of my knee. While hospitalized for eight days in the Intensive Care Unit, I received several wash out operations along with an antibiotic that was only available in IV form. On May 9th 2011, doctors placed a permanent IV into my arm that would remain there for three months in order to receive the necessary antibiotics to fight the infection. I thought my nightmare was over, but quickly learned that it was just the beginning. After arriving back home in Florida with my permeant IV and home care scheduled for the next several months, I was ready to begin my physical therapy and get my health back on track. However, I began to develop high fevers along with difficulty breathing. On May 19th of 2011, I was once again hospitalized in an Intensive Care Unit with an infection in my vein that the IV was running through. This time, it was rapidly spreading through my body causing fevers that can be fatal. After several weeks of intense treatment, i finally crutched myself out of the hospital weighing a total of 90 pounds. With infection at bay, this was the beginning of my long road to recovery. I had 9 surgeries over the past 3 years to repair the damages in my knee that were caused by the infection. Along with that came physical therapy 3 times a week . On july 15th 2013, i had an operation that was said to be the last one. After all of it was done, I was 23 years old and left solely responsible for half a million dollars in medical bills. The only option I was faced with was to sadly file for a bankruptcy, in which i did. Last week I had received unfortunate news from my doctor that the screws inside my knee were falling out which caused tissue damage. I will be receiving my 10th operation on Friday September 19th. I will be responsible for 30% of the surgical costs as well as physical therapy three times a week in the upcoming few months. Your donations will not only assist me financially, but it will assist me emotionally. It will take away the stress and struggle of trying to pay off the large bills while I'm just starting my career. I thank you all in advance and I can't express how much it is appreciated.