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My daughter & I are devastated and our hearts are broken!!!
In late November 2020, my nearly blind husband, Clifford Wilkie, had been reported as a missing person to the local police department in the desert community of Ridgecrest, California. He was last seen walking on a well traveled road when his legs gave out beneath him which caused him to fall & lose consciousness. By some miracle, after lying on the roadside for nearly a week, in both rain & cold weather, Cliff was eventually found by a kind-hearted woman who spotted him lying on the side of the road that he had been walking on. He was conscious at that time but unable to move his legs or get up. The woman managed to assist with putting my husband into her car & took him to the local hospital emergency room. At the hospital Cliff was diagnosed with an uncommon & life threatening illness called Rhabdomyolois which causes a muscle breakdown & muscle death.
(As muscle cells disintegrate, they release a protein called myoglobin into the blood. The kidneys are responsible for removing this myoglobin from the blood so urine can flush it out of the body. In large quantities, myoglobin can damage the brain, liver & kidneys. If the kidneys cannot get rid of the waste fast enough, kidney failure and death can occur.)
Rhabdomyolysis can be deadly if it isn’t treated. Additionally, People who fall, lose consciousness, and can’t get up for an extended time can develop Rhabdomyolysis. If Rhabdomyolysis is severe, it can damage the kidneys and lead to kidney failure. In Cliff's case, this is one of many things that occurred & unfortunately, after a month stay at a hospital in Ridgecrest, Cliff was transferred to the community of Bakersfield where he spent several months in an assortment of hospitals. Against all odds for survival, Cliff fought a tough battle, but unfortunately he was unable to be saved. Although the Covid was not the cause of my husband's untimely death, it certainly didn't help his situation. Also, I would like to say that during Cliff's multiple hospital stays & transfers, he contracted Covid-19 while in one of the emergency rooms so I would like to remind people to p-l-e-a-s-e wear your masks.
I was loaned some money for me to travel the distance of abt. 3000 miles to go from Delaware (where I am currently living) to California (where my husband died). During my trip, I was fortunate enough to be provided with lodging while making necessary arrangements to bring his remains to Delaware & I was also taxi'd around Bakersfield to complete several tasks that involved the 4 hospitals he occupied, Social Security & the Coroner but with time constraints, not all of the necessary & planned tasks were accomplished therefore I need to return for part 2 of my trip. I also went to some neighboring towns & attempted to retrieve his personal property such as his 1958 Jeep Willy's truck which was located but much of what he had with him is still missing such as his 3 guitars, During my next intended trip I can only hope that more of his treasured items & "memories" can be retrieved.
There is an extremely high accumulation of hospital bills & multiple ambulance bills which were incurred & not covered by any insurance. At this time I don't really know what the full medical bills are at this time because I haven't seen them all yet but so far the guestimated total is upward of $500,000 for the 4 hospitals that alternately cared for him as well as 10 ambulance trips that were required to transport him back and forth while he was being transferred to the hospitals. The multiple ambulance trips are an additional $25,000.
My husband had no medical insurance & I live on an extremely low fixed income & cannot possibly pay anything towards the mounting medical bills. Everybody wants to be paid & but it's impossible for me to do so.
My daughter & I are very sad with the passing of my beloved husband & father & we would like to be able to give him a final goodbye & to honor his memory with the final resting place that he deserves, but the accumulation of bills are astronomical, therefore, at the advise of friends, it was suggested that I create this Go-Fund-Me page & request donations to help cover the cost of my husband's massive medical bills & related burial expenses.
I am by no means requesting or expecting to have all of these bills paid however if even a fraction of our goal is reached it will certainly make a difference & if the goal is surpassed that would be even better!
Any help that can be provided, big or small, is greatly appreciated.
In late November 2020, my nearly blind husband, Clifford Wilkie, had been reported as a missing person to the local police department in the desert community of Ridgecrest, California. He was last seen walking on a well traveled road when his legs gave out beneath him which caused him to fall & lose consciousness. By some miracle, after lying on the roadside for nearly a week, in both rain & cold weather, Cliff was eventually found by a kind-hearted woman who spotted him lying on the side of the road that he had been walking on. He was conscious at that time but unable to move his legs or get up. The woman managed to assist with putting my husband into her car & took him to the local hospital emergency room. At the hospital Cliff was diagnosed with an uncommon & life threatening illness called Rhabdomyolois which causes a muscle breakdown & muscle death.
(As muscle cells disintegrate, they release a protein called myoglobin into the blood. The kidneys are responsible for removing this myoglobin from the blood so urine can flush it out of the body. In large quantities, myoglobin can damage the brain, liver & kidneys. If the kidneys cannot get rid of the waste fast enough, kidney failure and death can occur.)
Rhabdomyolysis can be deadly if it isn’t treated. Additionally, People who fall, lose consciousness, and can’t get up for an extended time can develop Rhabdomyolysis. If Rhabdomyolysis is severe, it can damage the kidneys and lead to kidney failure. In Cliff's case, this is one of many things that occurred & unfortunately, after a month stay at a hospital in Ridgecrest, Cliff was transferred to the community of Bakersfield where he spent several months in an assortment of hospitals. Against all odds for survival, Cliff fought a tough battle, but unfortunately he was unable to be saved. Although the Covid was not the cause of my husband's untimely death, it certainly didn't help his situation. Also, I would like to say that during Cliff's multiple hospital stays & transfers, he contracted Covid-19 while in one of the emergency rooms so I would like to remind people to p-l-e-a-s-e wear your masks.
I was loaned some money for me to travel the distance of abt. 3000 miles to go from Delaware (where I am currently living) to California (where my husband died). During my trip, I was fortunate enough to be provided with lodging while making necessary arrangements to bring his remains to Delaware & I was also taxi'd around Bakersfield to complete several tasks that involved the 4 hospitals he occupied, Social Security & the Coroner but with time constraints, not all of the necessary & planned tasks were accomplished therefore I need to return for part 2 of my trip. I also went to some neighboring towns & attempted to retrieve his personal property such as his 1958 Jeep Willy's truck which was located but much of what he had with him is still missing such as his 3 guitars, During my next intended trip I can only hope that more of his treasured items & "memories" can be retrieved.
There is an extremely high accumulation of hospital bills & multiple ambulance bills which were incurred & not covered by any insurance. At this time I don't really know what the full medical bills are at this time because I haven't seen them all yet but so far the guestimated total is upward of $500,000 for the 4 hospitals that alternately cared for him as well as 10 ambulance trips that were required to transport him back and forth while he was being transferred to the hospitals. The multiple ambulance trips are an additional $25,000.
My husband had no medical insurance & I live on an extremely low fixed income & cannot possibly pay anything towards the mounting medical bills. Everybody wants to be paid & but it's impossible for me to do so.
My daughter & I are very sad with the passing of my beloved husband & father & we would like to be able to give him a final goodbye & to honor his memory with the final resting place that he deserves, but the accumulation of bills are astronomical, therefore, at the advise of friends, it was suggested that I create this Go-Fund-Me page & request donations to help cover the cost of my husband's massive medical bills & related burial expenses.
I am by no means requesting or expecting to have all of these bills paid however if even a fraction of our goal is reached it will certainly make a difference & if the goal is surpassed that would be even better!
Any help that can be provided, big or small, is greatly appreciated.