Phil Herbaugh Medical Recovery Fund

Kids with their dad outside 7/15/15


Phil  & Jon 12/13/15
Jon & Phil  11/26/15
In May of 2015, Phil Herbaugh suffered a serious fall resulting in a traumatic brain injury (TBI). On May 4, he had his first surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain. He was in ICU at Summa City Hospital until May 22, 2015. During the time in ICU, he had a breathing tube to keep his brain from working so hard so that he could heal, he had to have fluid drained to relieve the pressure on his brain, and eventually an internal shunt in his head to divert fluid away from the brain. The purpose of the shunt is to restore the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid.  After removing the breathing tube, Phil had a tracheostomy so a ventilator could assist him with his breathing until his brain continued to heal.  The trach was removed in July. 

From ICU he was moved to a Long-Term Acute Care unit (L-TAC) and was there for rehab until July 13, 2015. He spent 11 days in a nursing home, but had to return to the hospital due to severe seizures. This setback negatively affected his rehab, and after another week of hospitalization, he spent 30-days in an acute rehab center learning self-care skills, cognitive training, and gross motor skills.

Phil spent 90-days in a long-term skilled nursing facility focused on physical, cognitive, speech, and occupational therapies.   The fall and the resulting TBI has affected the Phil that we knew and cared about; the hard work during his therapy successfully moved him from having a feeding tube to being able to eat solid foods and doing routine self-care tasks.   Although he progressed at the nursing facility, Phil had several falls and the family spent countless hours with him daily to help keep him as safe as possible.   Phil continues to require one-on-one guidance to keep him from falling and to remind him about everyday tasks, and a neurological facility was our goal for him. 

Kim worked for months to get him into a neurological rehab center, fighting the insurance company and begging different neurological facilities to accept him.  He was finally accepted at the beginning of December 2015. The center is two-hours away. His children and family  visit weekly and talk to him daily. Even with the distance, and all during his hospitalizations and rehabs, Lindsay, Jon, and Kim have been there for Phil, spending countless hours working with him and keeping him connected to them. Both children are committed to their dad and do whatever they can even while going to school, working,  playing organized sports, and trying to live their individual lives. Phil has short-term memory loss, and at this time in his rehab, there has been no conclusive projection on his recovery. There is hope that he will continue making progress and continue to make improvements cognitively, as well as physically.   He often has set backs due to changes in medications and dosage which seems to be a constant battle. 

His insurance only covers so much of the care, and his annual out-of-pocket is $6,500.00. He currently owes for 2015 and 2016.  Additionally, Phil has no income. He is unable to work and has not yet been approved for SSI disability. And, even when approved, his out-pocket expenses will continue to build.  

Our goal for Phil is to get him back to Ohio and closer to his children and family. To do that, Phil will need to be at the rehab facility for possibly  another 6-9 months, as long as the insurance company continues to approve his stay.  Insurance can be denied at any point in  time if they feel he isn't making progress.  This doesn't necessarily mean he can't or won't continue to benefit from his neurological rehabilitation, so we will continue to advocate for him to keep him in rehab as long as possible.  After that, we hope Phil will be able to have the skills needed to live a more independent life.

Phil remembers his family, his love of the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen, the Washington Redskins,  and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  He recalls that he was an attorney, and often talks legal talk with his family and caregivers. 

Please help out our family by contributing  what you can.  We appreciate any help you provide.  So many people have followed Phil's progress and have already helped our family by being emotionally supportive.   We cannot thank you enough for your prayers, concern, and support. 
 
Kim, Lindsay, and Jon Herbaugh

Both rehab pics 10/11/15