Medical Help Needed for Gerry Mercer

Hi my name is Kelly Fowler, Gerry Mercer's sister in law. My brother in law is in need of help. A brief summary of his story is below.

In September of 2021, Gerry was playing a game of softball and injured himself. He didn’t think much of it and thought it would heal. A month later he ended up going to the Emergency Room where he was told he had an infection and was given an injection to clear it up. Shortly after and still in pain, he went to his family doctor and was again told he had an infection. Within days he was extremely sick and over the next couple of months lost over 50 lbs. He thought he was dying. After months of visiting the Emergency Room and a wide range of tests he realized he experienced a severe reaction to the prescribed drugs. Life was turned upside down. The side effects lasted over a year and he was unable to work. When the side effects did ease he was left with the hip pain he started with and requested a referral to Ortho to have it looked at. For two years his family doctor told him no, Ortho will not look at him.

In May of 2024 he visited a new doctor and was finally referred to Ortho and had an MRI in July 2024. He finally found out, the pain from three years ago was the result of a hip labrum tear and surgery was needed. He was referred to a clinic in Ontario as there are no surgeons here to complete that type of surgery. The challenges continued. Communication was difficult, phone calls were not returned, a copy of the MRI was never requested and even a copy of the MRI disc that Gerry requested himself and mailed to Ontario was apparently never received there.

With no surgery date in sight, he has agreed to go away to pay for the surgery which could be scheduled almost immediately in either the US or Montreal. Unfortunately with Canada's health care system in shambles, his three year ordeal has taken its toll physically, emotionally and financially. As he is self employed, three years of trying to work through the pain, when he was feeling up to it, to keep his business in operation and his family afloat has exhausted his savings and he is in need of help. He is no longer able to work through the pain and is in desperate need of the surgery as soon as possible to return to work and normal every day life.

Thank you for your contributions – they will be appreciated more than you will know.