Please help Chris Gharbi pay some hospital bills

Chris Gharbi has suffered from Myasthenia Gravis for over 15 years. Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles. Myasthenia Gravis acts similarly to a neuromuscular disease affecting the voluntary muscles of the body, especially those that control the eyes, mouth, throat and limbs. At its worst, it affects the respiratory muscles controlling breathing which can result in a life-threatening myasthenic crisis.

Chris was diagnosed shortly after he married his wife Kim. And while Chris is cool, MG is actually why he wears sunglasses indoors - to protect his eyes from blurring and double vision caused by squinting in light which may be imperceptible to us but fatigues his eyes until the eyelids droop and eyeballs wander. MG is why he radically changed his diet, as often chewing and swallowing are extremely difficult. MG is why Chris sometimes has trouble speaking, let alone singing which, prior to his diagnosis, was a source of great joy in his life. In addition to this terrible disease, Chris has simultaneously battled Thymoma, a rare cancer of the Thymus gland that is just above the heart. Thymoma can often be associated with MG. Chris has required two extremely invasive surgeries to remove Thymoma tumors, the first in 2007 for a thymectomy that required cracking the chest open and removing the thymus, and the most recent in 2018 when his Thymoma metastasized, recurring on the pleural lining of his left lung. This required a rib-splitting pleurectomy and extensive radiation, further damaging that lung. His focus on staying positive through this journey is an amazing achievement.

Recently, Chris had a third Thymoma recurrence and another extensive round of radiation to the left lung. This sent him into a Myasthenic Crisis resulting in acute respiratory failure, requiring intubation and breathing on a ventilator. With the many complications of Chris’s case, at the height of the emergency admission to a hospital in NJ, Kim and their family made the lifesaving decision to move Chris to the NeuroCritical Care Unit in the Hospital at UPENN in Philadelphia. Kim, never wanting to leave Chris’ side, has relocated to a nearby hotel where she can be his daily advocate to his medical team, only a short uber ride from Chris. He has required a tracheostomy for the ventilator and a feeding tube for his nutrition and medication delivery, with his swallow too weak to risk aspirating his food or pills. For the first 35 days, Chris struggled to breathe, could not see clearly due to double vision and drooping eyes, and was not able to speak, even to say these simple words, “Kim, I love you.”

Kim recently shared that on “Day 51: 13 days off the ventilator, and 6 more bronchoscopies later, Chris had another big step today: moved to lower flow oxygen and two full laps around the ICU without any breaks! He is improving, literally one step at a time. If anyone has ever had the experience of extended hospital stay, you know the significance of these milestones”. In between Kim’s emotional updates, she continues to send out heartfelt birthday wishes to her family and friends.  

Day 51 was over a week ago. This means that Kim has been in the hotel for nearly two months while advocating, praying and routing for Chris to push through and get to the next milestone.

In total, Chris has been in ICU for two months. And while Chris is taking those baby steps, their bills have been increasing. While they would never ask for help themselves, we are reaching out for them to ask for donations to help them pay some bills. So Chris can continue to fight the good fight, and so Kim can continue to be by Chris’ side. And if you know Chris and Kim, you know they will be forever grateful for your friendship, love and donation.  

We appreciate your time in reading this. We hope you donate what you can and feel free to send to those who we may not be connected to. Love -Matt & Kristin