Medical Bills and Getting Family here safely

This Gofundme is absolutely heart breaking to create. Joe McDaniel was hit by a vehicle in Gunnison this morning, and we know the driver stopped, was ticketed, and there is a court date. I am putting this together to cast my net as far as I can to help a friend in need. We need to get his Mother here ASAP. Joe was flown to Grand Junction this morning and is fighting his hardest. If you can spare a few dollars or more to help someone going through an extremely difficult time, please do so.

I love you all and I hope this finds you in a safe place.

——————————————————

UPDATE(3/17) (From Emily)

“Joe has had a lot of improvement today. When I got there this morning the daily goals were to get him off the ventilator to breath on his own and to back him off sedation to hopefully hear him wake up enough to talk. He did both of those things today before noon. He went from being able to say his first name to his full name to answering commands like ‘can you wiggle your toes’ to recognizing me and then being able to recognize he was in a hospital to being able to express feeling pain or discomfort. Huge improvements but he is not out of the woods yet. His CT scans came back looking the same as the initial ones, which gives us hope that the bleeds on his brain are not getting worse. It is also expected to take some time for the brain to reabsorb that blood again. They are closely monitoring him for changes and celebrating him for his sassiness as that feels like some part of his personality is returning. He broke a bone in his ankle but other than that his body looks good for having been in a car versus pedestrian collision yesterday. I have hope today that I wasn’t quite certain of yesterday. Keep the good thoughts and donations coming. It all Means a lot.”

UPDATE (3/18) 

————————————————————-

“Today was a day. The main goal for Joe was to move from the ICU to a regular room but due to his irritated demeanor (which is totally common with brain injuries) they decided to keep him in ICU a bit longer. That being said, big milestones were met today. He brushed his teeth on his own, he got out of bed for the first time and sat in a chair for a couple hours this morning, he ate solid food and was able to feed himself some, and he got to see and be loved on by his Mama and his sister Amy. Thanks to the generous donations from so many we were able to get his family out here to lay eyes on Joe, love him up, see him with their own eyes and know that he is doing pretty well considering the circumstances and that he is being cared for. Let’s keep this going so that we can help give him a cushion to lean in to as he continues to heal. Thank you to everyone for your support in every way.”

3/19 UPDATE

————————————————————

“Today was a big challenge in many ways. Joe’s big accomplishment today was getting moved out of the ICU to a regular room. This big deal however was paired with a combative personality. As his brain heals the basic emotions come back first, and the first one to return with force is anger. Joe needs love and grounding support. This will hopefully be lighter tomorrow. Logan and I are realizing that this healing journey is going to be a long one and witnessing and aiding his healing process can’t be on just us. Today we are casting a net to call in all our community and those who are willing and capable of providing grounding loving support to come and sit with Joe for a day or two at a time so we can all rotate in and out and not burn out in caregiving. Please reach out to Logan or I to discuss in detail how you can be more involved to support Joe’s healing journey. Thank you all.”

UPDATE (3/20) (Logan)

————————————————————-

“Today Joe was a bit more awake but still confused and having a tough time remembering and piecing things together. I spoke with the nurses about trying to get him transferred back here to Gunnison Valley and they are going to start looking into it and how quickly that can happen. Things are moving slow because there isn’t much to do but wait right now. Keep sending up Positivity to Joe and let’s all work on getting him back here. I will update you with more as soon as I know.”

UPDATE (3/21) Emily

——————————————————————

”I spoke to his nurses today and he took a spill trying to get out of bed this morning,  he did not hurt himself. The rest of the day he’s been pretty calm and relatively lucid. His case manager has put out a referral to transfer him back to Gunnison soon and is just waiting for that to come back positive. Keep Sending out prayers and positive vibes and reach out if you would like to be in the rotation of friends checking in on him when he makes his return.”

UPDATE: 3/24

———————————————————————

Joe update: (by Emily) Yesterday the doctor at st Mary’s deemed Joe fit to make the decision to check himself out of the hospital. As Joe doesn’t remember the whole ride home this was concerning. His brain is still very much injured and he needs rehab and constant medical attention and assistance. Since being released and me writing this he has taken 4 major falls because of his inability to find stability in his body. This morning Logan and I along with our friend Ellen, an excellent patient advocate, teamed up to get Joe back into the health care system. GVH has taken him on through the weekend and the plan as of now is to transfer him to Craig Hospital Monday morning where he can receive the care he needs. I ask now for everyone reading this to please share his go fund me and consider donating to it as no donation is too small. We are still trying to build a cushion for him when he gets to come home for real. Also, if you have a couple hours to go sit with him and keep gentle grounded company with him through this weekend, please consider giving him your time and company. Love to you all and thank you.

UPDATE (3/25) Emily

—————————————————————-

Joe was checked in to GVH yesterday and they have been caring for him and prepping him for a transfer to Craig where he can get the physical and mental rehab he needs. He was pretty lucid today and able to hold conversations but couldn’t remember odd details like who the president of the United States is. Overall he is doing well and understands the need to go to Craig. The plan is to transfer him there tomorrow morning (Sunday). You can support his long road to recovery by donating to his go fund me and sharing it to the wider internet. Thank you.