Medical Expenses for Spinal Injury

Hello,

Thank you so much for coming to this page in support of our family member Alex Philip.  In addition to your financial donations, we accept prayers.

Here is the summary of his spinal injury:

·         Alex fell some years ago in Trinidad where he resides

·         He had on and off back pain and signs of paralysis that were coming and going

·         Alex was back at work and functioning

·         Back pain returned and this time MUCH more severely 

·         He started losing feeling

·         He could not move his lower body due to pain and numbness

·         He is now using his arms to move his legs, not only because of pain, but because he cannot

·         He has lost feeling in his legs

·         He now has skin sores on parts of his body due to the inability to move 

·         The inability to move causes many challenges for activities of daily living (challenges in the areas of grooming, bowel habits, getting food etc.)

·         He has to be transported from place to place by stretcher due to the brittleness of his bones, and touchiness of the nerves in his back

·         This has started to be overwhelming for him, but maybe that’s the wrong word, because he is an OVERCOMER and always smiling!

·         As much as he is smiling, we have to remember this is critical

·         His life (at least physically) will absolutely be different after all of this, we just do not know how

Medical Findings:

·         He has fractured vertebrae (the bones that support the spinal cord, the spinal cord contain the nerves)

·         He has bulging discs (the cushions between the bones, that support the vertebrae)

·         These bulging discs are not only TOUCHING the nerves, but COMPRESSING the nerves causing them to lose circulation and deaden.

·         The nerves are losing life as the time is passing, making it less and less likely for them to revive in his lower body

·         The bulging discs need to come out surgically to relieve the nerves

·         But the vertebrae also need to be operated on - they have lost so much bone integrity, that they are relying on the cushions who are also "squished"

·         The updated MRI findings from this week are grim

·         Many vertebrae in the lumbar spine have lost almost ALL integrity and they are near dissolved

·         The reconstruction will be more extensive than planned

·         More images and tests need to be done on the vertebrae, discs and spinal cord.

·         He will have multiple areas of titanium in his back

·         They would not do the surgery if there was no hope. SO HAVE HOPE.

·         The only reason there has not been a surgery this week, is because of the details that need to go into this surgery

·         Some of these tests may not be able to be completed at the current hospital, which would require him going back and forth to other facilities

Costs: 

·         The cost of the surgery is now covered!

·         However additional costs may include but are not limited to:

o    Pre-Operative Out of hospital testing (still ongoing when the hospital does not have the resource ie certain blood tests or imaging)

o    Post- Operative Out of hospital testing (follow up imaging and blood work)

o    Outsourced Equipment

o    Physical therapy

o    Durable medical equipment (stabilizers, walker, wheelchair, adaptions to accommodate the equipment and for safety at home etc.)

o    Medication

o    At home care giving (he is currently at the level of maximum assistance)

100% of donations received via GoFundMe minus transactions fees will be transferred into a bank account in Trinidad created especially for Alex's medical expenses related to all of the above.

Thanks again for taking the time to see how you can support Alex.



Sincerely,

The Philip Family