Injured Police Officer Rob King
Donation protected
Please look under the Updates for the whole story.
Thank you, Jamie
To those who may be in a position to provide assistance,
My name is Jamie King and my husband is Officer Robert King of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD). He has served the SLMPD to the best of his ability for 24 years where he has been instrumental in saving lives and witnessing firsthand devastating loss. One such loss touched him when he lost his partner in the Line of Duty and another to Police Suicide. The biggest save of his career was that of a partner and fellow best friend, an Officer shot in his own home.
I am writing this in the hope that you can provide much needed assistance to our family. On January 30th 2018, my husband suffered a fall at work when a piece of equipment failed as he was getting down from putting things away on a high shelf in the back of the Range House. When he fell, he suffered massive body trauma including a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He has undergone multiple surgeries ranging from emergency neck surgery, left shoulder surgery for a 90* tear, right hip surgery for a 180* tear and has a pending foot surgery. The injuries have resulted in persistent numbness in his left arm and hand, and his right leg. He was not afforded a Neurologist by the Workers Compensation Company, despite the request by his Neurosurgeon, and as a result he has possible permanent neurological issues. We were not permitted to get our own physicians until February of this year when he was cleared by Workers Compensation and told to return to Full Duty. Those physicians failed to be transparent in their charting which casts ethical concerns over the treatment and subsequent release. The physicians would tell us in person that Rob would never be able to return to work as a Police Officer, then those same physicians would document in his chart that everything was good. We, thankfully recorded all appointments for documentation of the processes.
Immediately following the accident, Rob exhibited neurological deficits that manifested with issues in his vision, speech, hearing, taste, smell and balance. Every month since his accident he has deteriorated in some way. In October of 2018, I started noticing a tremor in his hand and foot. The tremors were attributed by the physicians, as a result of nerves regenerating and no treatment or further diagnostics were completed. The tremors have progressed to continuous whole body tremors. He is unable to drive as he has been diagnosed with visual snow syndrome among other issues. He is seeing an eye specialist currently in hope that the damage is not permanent. He has tinnitus in both ears and some days he says it is difficult to hear. Due to these complications, he often requires a radio or tv on to be able to sleep. We are waiting to see a movement specialist here in St. Louis, but the first available appointment is August 2020. His short term memory is still affected and we have been told that it is most likely permanent. He has aphasia and his speech is fragmented. Any distraction when he is talking and he will lose his train of thought. I contacted a few well known rehabilitation hospitals only to be told that they only take people with a trauma that is less than 12 months post incident. Unfortunately we are almost at 2 years and, therefore, unable to be seen. He suffers from emotional trauma caused by the TBI; thankfully I am with him 24/7 which has allowed me to be his voice of reason when he thought he had nothing left.
Before his accident my husband was an Academy Range Instructor. He was one of the best shooters in the department. He has attended and has been certified by many different specialized training courses in the US. He was an innovator and designed a bullet gauge that was able to do a whole box of rounds at a time instead of just one at a time. He was the one they would ask to fix the target systems, or rewire things like the Range house or class rooms at the Academy. He was able to fix or replace many things in those 6 years at or below cost because he would do his homework to find the best deals. He helped out in many other Academy trainings like Defensive tactics and Taser training. Due to his injuries he is unable to shoot. His left shoulder was not fixed properly which does not allow Rob to raise his arm in front of him to site in his gun or shoot. He can no longer support the end of a long gun either. He has attempted to qualify at the Department Range, but was unable to raise it high enough to even reach the target wall. My husband goes to therapy three to four times a week, at minimum. He has various physician appointments monthly. The life he had before is no longer; now we must learn and adapt to our new normal.
The main reason for this campaign is our family’s need for financial assistance. This accident and subsequent treatments has been extremely difficult on us. He was unable to work but was still able to receive pay due to the usage of his accrued personal sick time and vacation time. In his 20 year career, he had previously only used 3 sick days, so there was a substantial accumulation, but due to the long duration of his injuries and treatments, the balances of his sick and vacation time will expire soon. If he doesn’t get his Fit for Duty test soon and get started in the medical retirement and salary continuation isn’t started, our family will suffer another loss in the form of his income and health insurance. He has now been forced to return to work due to running out of time. His going back to work is against many of his physicians’ orders, and even at light duty, many of his symptoms have started getting worse. I fear that the stress will cause more issues. I know the added stress on myself has been pretty great.
Since his accident I had to slowly back away from my work and only work from home to assist with his treatments and appointments. As a result, I have lost many clients and in September of 2019, I was let go. This has brought compounded issues and even more of a strain. We have been forced to stop paying any bills except those that belong to our house, car insurance and cell phones. Every OT therapy appointment (currently 2-3 times per week) he attends is $25. His eye specialist appointments are $50 a week plus what ever materials or extra testing he gets done. His therapist is $25 a week. Then add in gas money and food money since we are always out and it adds up weekly. We have been told quite often to sell our home, but that would not be the best financial decision. As of right now we only owe $87,000 on our house. We are a family of four and our house properly provides for our needs. The amount that we pay monthly is cheaper than any apartment or home we could rent to meet our needs in the area where we live and in our school district which our two kids attend school. We also have vehicles that would require storage. Both our kids understand the financial situation we are in and are more understanding than younger children, but they still have basic needs to be met. Our children have given up a lot during this time and it makes me feel guilty when we constantly have to tell them no, or no we can’t buy them the things that they need. Missing out on activities for school or fun is hard for a twelve and fourteen year old. Our son has even been asking for sponsors so that he may continue to train and compete in his sport. We have had to exhaust all our savings, including their savings just to make things work. This is one of the worst things a parent can experience, knowing we had to take that from them. In the beginning we had a YouCaring page and we were blessed by so many friends and family. We were blessed by a few people that held benefits for us too. When YouCaring became GoFundMe we have run this campaign too, but have not had the most success. If it weren’t for the kindness of others, last year my kids wouldn’t have had presents to unwrap at Christmas. The brunt of our financial issues has fallen to my Mother who has helped us out tremendously. Due to our house being in the middle of a total rehab when he had his accident we have lived with my Mom. She has had to support us in more ways than any Mother or Grandmother should have to, and I am forever grateful that we do have a home to live in and that I have help with our kids. Our current living situation is only temporary though. Thanks to donations from friends our house is close to being complete.
Rob and I have always been the helpers. We have been the ones to volunteer our time and help others as often and as much as we can. Even after his accident we have volunteered at different events as much as we could and can. It has been extremely difficult to reach out and ask for help, but at this time we don’t have a choice. Unfortunately/fortunately he is in the middle of most Organizations criteria of need. He is not considered Catastrophic, but he is not well. He fits into the “someday” category. He cannot work 100% right now, and for the foreseeable future, but hopefully someday. He is unable to 100% care for himself, but someday we hope he can. He cannot do all things that a normally functioning Father or Husband can do in terms of help and care, but someday maybe he can. He is in a middle ground and while we wait for someday, we are losing in so many different ways. We have really not gotten the support from his Department that I thought we should have and deserve to have. We fear losing our house every month, since that is our biggest expense and due to our financials it is often late and a late fee has to be added on. That is why I am seeking help with our mortgage. If we can get help with that biggest expense everything else would be manageable. Our son is only fourteen years old and he is already trying to figure out a way that he can get a job to help. That shouldn’t even be on his mind. We have had to ask local First Responder Organizations for help some months just so we can make our house payments and while I know I can ask for more help, I feel that I am taking more than I am giving right now. There is so much more to our story, but this is just the basic run down. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read through this.
Not much has changed in Robs health since this all started. We are still fighting the medical retirement process even though a Pension Dr has put him as unable to fulfill the duties of an Officer. My health has suffered due to the stress, in 2020 I had to have a major operation due to issues and a mass, and multiple prolapses. In 2021 they found cancer and I had surgery and then just 6m later in 2022 they found more. I am seeing other oncologists due to other issues that have come up. It is never ending. But it is what it is and you just take it one day at a time.
Thank you, Jamie
To those who may be in a position to provide assistance,
My name is Jamie King and my husband is Officer Robert King of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD). He has served the SLMPD to the best of his ability for 24 years where he has been instrumental in saving lives and witnessing firsthand devastating loss. One such loss touched him when he lost his partner in the Line of Duty and another to Police Suicide. The biggest save of his career was that of a partner and fellow best friend, an Officer shot in his own home.
I am writing this in the hope that you can provide much needed assistance to our family. On January 30th 2018, my husband suffered a fall at work when a piece of equipment failed as he was getting down from putting things away on a high shelf in the back of the Range House. When he fell, he suffered massive body trauma including a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He has undergone multiple surgeries ranging from emergency neck surgery, left shoulder surgery for a 90* tear, right hip surgery for a 180* tear and has a pending foot surgery. The injuries have resulted in persistent numbness in his left arm and hand, and his right leg. He was not afforded a Neurologist by the Workers Compensation Company, despite the request by his Neurosurgeon, and as a result he has possible permanent neurological issues. We were not permitted to get our own physicians until February of this year when he was cleared by Workers Compensation and told to return to Full Duty. Those physicians failed to be transparent in their charting which casts ethical concerns over the treatment and subsequent release. The physicians would tell us in person that Rob would never be able to return to work as a Police Officer, then those same physicians would document in his chart that everything was good. We, thankfully recorded all appointments for documentation of the processes.
Immediately following the accident, Rob exhibited neurological deficits that manifested with issues in his vision, speech, hearing, taste, smell and balance. Every month since his accident he has deteriorated in some way. In October of 2018, I started noticing a tremor in his hand and foot. The tremors were attributed by the physicians, as a result of nerves regenerating and no treatment or further diagnostics were completed. The tremors have progressed to continuous whole body tremors. He is unable to drive as he has been diagnosed with visual snow syndrome among other issues. He is seeing an eye specialist currently in hope that the damage is not permanent. He has tinnitus in both ears and some days he says it is difficult to hear. Due to these complications, he often requires a radio or tv on to be able to sleep. We are waiting to see a movement specialist here in St. Louis, but the first available appointment is August 2020. His short term memory is still affected and we have been told that it is most likely permanent. He has aphasia and his speech is fragmented. Any distraction when he is talking and he will lose his train of thought. I contacted a few well known rehabilitation hospitals only to be told that they only take people with a trauma that is less than 12 months post incident. Unfortunately we are almost at 2 years and, therefore, unable to be seen. He suffers from emotional trauma caused by the TBI; thankfully I am with him 24/7 which has allowed me to be his voice of reason when he thought he had nothing left.
Before his accident my husband was an Academy Range Instructor. He was one of the best shooters in the department. He has attended and has been certified by many different specialized training courses in the US. He was an innovator and designed a bullet gauge that was able to do a whole box of rounds at a time instead of just one at a time. He was the one they would ask to fix the target systems, or rewire things like the Range house or class rooms at the Academy. He was able to fix or replace many things in those 6 years at or below cost because he would do his homework to find the best deals. He helped out in many other Academy trainings like Defensive tactics and Taser training. Due to his injuries he is unable to shoot. His left shoulder was not fixed properly which does not allow Rob to raise his arm in front of him to site in his gun or shoot. He can no longer support the end of a long gun either. He has attempted to qualify at the Department Range, but was unable to raise it high enough to even reach the target wall. My husband goes to therapy three to four times a week, at minimum. He has various physician appointments monthly. The life he had before is no longer; now we must learn and adapt to our new normal.
The main reason for this campaign is our family’s need for financial assistance. This accident and subsequent treatments has been extremely difficult on us. He was unable to work but was still able to receive pay due to the usage of his accrued personal sick time and vacation time. In his 20 year career, he had previously only used 3 sick days, so there was a substantial accumulation, but due to the long duration of his injuries and treatments, the balances of his sick and vacation time will expire soon. If he doesn’t get his Fit for Duty test soon and get started in the medical retirement and salary continuation isn’t started, our family will suffer another loss in the form of his income and health insurance. He has now been forced to return to work due to running out of time. His going back to work is against many of his physicians’ orders, and even at light duty, many of his symptoms have started getting worse. I fear that the stress will cause more issues. I know the added stress on myself has been pretty great.
Since his accident I had to slowly back away from my work and only work from home to assist with his treatments and appointments. As a result, I have lost many clients and in September of 2019, I was let go. This has brought compounded issues and even more of a strain. We have been forced to stop paying any bills except those that belong to our house, car insurance and cell phones. Every OT therapy appointment (currently 2-3 times per week) he attends is $25. His eye specialist appointments are $50 a week plus what ever materials or extra testing he gets done. His therapist is $25 a week. Then add in gas money and food money since we are always out and it adds up weekly. We have been told quite often to sell our home, but that would not be the best financial decision. As of right now we only owe $87,000 on our house. We are a family of four and our house properly provides for our needs. The amount that we pay monthly is cheaper than any apartment or home we could rent to meet our needs in the area where we live and in our school district which our two kids attend school. We also have vehicles that would require storage. Both our kids understand the financial situation we are in and are more understanding than younger children, but they still have basic needs to be met. Our children have given up a lot during this time and it makes me feel guilty when we constantly have to tell them no, or no we can’t buy them the things that they need. Missing out on activities for school or fun is hard for a twelve and fourteen year old. Our son has even been asking for sponsors so that he may continue to train and compete in his sport. We have had to exhaust all our savings, including their savings just to make things work. This is one of the worst things a parent can experience, knowing we had to take that from them. In the beginning we had a YouCaring page and we were blessed by so many friends and family. We were blessed by a few people that held benefits for us too. When YouCaring became GoFundMe we have run this campaign too, but have not had the most success. If it weren’t for the kindness of others, last year my kids wouldn’t have had presents to unwrap at Christmas. The brunt of our financial issues has fallen to my Mother who has helped us out tremendously. Due to our house being in the middle of a total rehab when he had his accident we have lived with my Mom. She has had to support us in more ways than any Mother or Grandmother should have to, and I am forever grateful that we do have a home to live in and that I have help with our kids. Our current living situation is only temporary though. Thanks to donations from friends our house is close to being complete.
Rob and I have always been the helpers. We have been the ones to volunteer our time and help others as often and as much as we can. Even after his accident we have volunteered at different events as much as we could and can. It has been extremely difficult to reach out and ask for help, but at this time we don’t have a choice. Unfortunately/fortunately he is in the middle of most Organizations criteria of need. He is not considered Catastrophic, but he is not well. He fits into the “someday” category. He cannot work 100% right now, and for the foreseeable future, but hopefully someday. He is unable to 100% care for himself, but someday we hope he can. He cannot do all things that a normally functioning Father or Husband can do in terms of help and care, but someday maybe he can. He is in a middle ground and while we wait for someday, we are losing in so many different ways. We have really not gotten the support from his Department that I thought we should have and deserve to have. We fear losing our house every month, since that is our biggest expense and due to our financials it is often late and a late fee has to be added on. That is why I am seeking help with our mortgage. If we can get help with that biggest expense everything else would be manageable. Our son is only fourteen years old and he is already trying to figure out a way that he can get a job to help. That shouldn’t even be on his mind. We have had to ask local First Responder Organizations for help some months just so we can make our house payments and while I know I can ask for more help, I feel that I am taking more than I am giving right now. There is so much more to our story, but this is just the basic run down. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read through this.
Not much has changed in Robs health since this all started. We are still fighting the medical retirement process even though a Pension Dr has put him as unable to fulfill the duties of an Officer. My health has suffered due to the stress, in 2020 I had to have a major operation due to issues and a mass, and multiple prolapses. In 2021 they found cancer and I had surgery and then just 6m later in 2022 they found more. I am seeing other oncologists due to other issues that have come up. It is never ending. But it is what it is and you just take it one day at a time.
Organizer
Friends Of the Kings
Organizer
Mehlville, MO