Perry Casey with medical expenses to continue his fight

We all somewhat prepare for what’s to come in life’s journey BUT we don’t expect to have to take on the fight of your life at only 50 years old.

Perry Casey is from Cullman, Alabama. Grew up in a tiny town neighboring Cullman, called Ruth. He graduated from Arab High School where he had planned to play basketball for Liberty University but life had other plans. Perry was raised by his grandparents and when his grandfather passed away, he made the decision to stay home and help care for his grandmother. Shortly after, he joined the academy to become a law enforcement officer and quickly fell in love with serving his community and the people in it.

Always the jokester of his bunch and extremely competitive, Perry enjoyed sports such as basketball, men’s NSA softball, pro mod racing and cornhole. His favorite hobby though, includes spending time with his 3 children + bonus daughter and grandson (and another little girl due in September).

After having to resign from his 17 year law enforcement career due to medical reasons, Perry began working for a local valve distribution company as a Quality Supervisor. It was 5 years in to his tenure where he began to notice some serious health concerns. After countless doctor visits, Perry was medically removed from work by his physician and diagnosed with Lupus.

Following a 6 year battle, he was finally approved for disability and only a short year later, his health suffered an even more significant decline. The battle began!

Perry, who as a law enforcement deputy patrolled his county for years and knew it like a book, began leaving home for errands and not knowing his way back home. He began having hand tremors and involuntary muscle jerking, problems with his coordination, severe fatigue and muscle weakness. He would shower and come out with his clothing on backwards and his speech had changed from his normal commanding voice to a slurred light whisper. In October of 2024 he began having balance issues and would stagger as if he were inebriated (he does not drink). November brought additional concerns when he began to suffer from frequent nausea and vomiting. By the end of December, Perry was falling frequently. He kept saying “my legs just stop working on me”. He starting having visual hallucinations where he would think he noticed a puppy dog in the room but one was not present. He started having REM sleep behaviors where he would act out repairing something or eating a sandwich while he slept. His short term memory recall was all but gone. He could tell you a story about his law enforcement days from 15 years ago but he could not remember a conversation you had with him an hour ago or what he done the day before. Early January 2025 brought more frequent falls (multiple times per day) and in mid January, his wife came home from work to find him face down on the floor. He was taken to Huntsville Hospital where they kept him for 2 weeks, performing a multitude of tests. He had MRI’s, CT Scans, Ultrasounds, Nerve Conduction Studies, Muscle Conduction, Lumbar Punctures and more. He was administered IVIG therapy and came home just days before his 51st birthday using a walker for assistance and having home health care assigned to help care for his medical condition with a diagnosis of Neurodegenerative Dementia with suspicion of Lewy Body and Parkinson’s Dementia. Still, the decline continued! He began constantly vomiting. This was day and night and it continued for weeks! By the time mid March rolled around, Perry found himself admitted to Huntsville Hospital again. This time he was severely dehydrated and his body was in starvation mode. He had to have surgery to have a G-tube inserted so he could be fed nutrients. After another 2 week hospital stay, he left the hospital to enter a physical therapy rehabilitation facility. He was there only one and a half days before being sent back to Huntsville Hospital AGAIN because he lost all feeling/sensation in his legs. After another week in the hospital, he was released to another physical therapy hospital for rehab. He stayed one week before being told that he had a spinal cord injury where his spinal cord was being impinged by his vertebrae. However, “it is inoperable” because “you are too neurological “. He was told they suspect ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and he needed the specialists at Vanderbilt to see him in order to try to get a definitive diagnosis. He was informed that neuro degenerative disease does not improve and is not reversible but instead it is progressive and “he has a tough road ahead of him so he needed to prepare”. Perry came home, on Palliative Care, as a bed bound patient, awaiting his May 28th appointment at Vanderbilt.

This is where YOU come in! As you can imagine, expenses have been significant and have taken a toll on him and his family. The upcoming and expected trips to/from Vanderbilt will be a lot. With Perry unable to walk, he is bed or wheel chair bound only. In order to get him to/from these appointments in Nashville, TN, a handicapped wheelchair accessible van will have to be rented in order to safely and comfortably transport him with multiple family members to assist and care for him throughout the trips. Hotel stays will likely be involved and work will have to be missed for his family members who assist. Aside from this, accommodations need to be made at home such as a wheelchair ramp, walk-in or roll-in shower, and a caregiver to sit with him during the 4 days a week that his wife has to work.

IF you would please search your heart and consider helping this family in any way that you can, it would be such a huge blessing to them and help relieve one of the many stresses they face daily. Throughout it all, this family and Perry has never lost their faith. Perry believes God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers and this will one day be his testimony to inspire, encourage and lift others who are suffering up. “Deuteronomy 31:8: The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you”. Through this scripture, Perry’s faith encourages him that God is with him every step of this journey.

Any gift you provide is sincerely appreciated by Perry and his family and if you are unable to give, remembering him in prayer is gift enough.

God Bless you all!