* Click on cover photo for metadata from iPhone documenting time, date, and place.

Hello. My name is Korey Long. I live in San Luis Obispo, California, with my spouse and two kitties.

On September 3, 2021, I had an angioplasty and the cardiologist found an area of my heart was blocked 91%! They immediately admitted me to French Hospital, where I remained for almost a month. On the 9th, they performed triple-bypass heart surgery (CABG). All looked good at first, but the doctors and nurses noticed too much blood in the tubes coming from my chest. The doctors rushed me back into surgery (opening my chest a second time) to repair one of the grafts that had become detached.

I have been on temporary disability since September 3, 2021 and will not be returning to work until January 5, 2021.

This normally would not be a problem, but the cardiologist’s staff failed to complete and mail my NDI disability paperwork for almost 6 weeks! We spoke with the head cardiologist about this and they did nothing to compensate for their staff’s negligence.

The paperwork finally got completed last week, but the check for all this time was only 40% of ONE MONTH’s pay. We essentially have been eating, putting gas in the car, and paying smaller bills with Matthew’s part-time Instacart Shopper income and this small disability check that spans part of September, October, and November.

Cal Poly’s HR Department has been diligently working to get donations of sick/vacation time from other employees to get me into full-pay status. There is no guarantee this will happen.

Sadly, due to the delay in paperwork from the EDD to Cal Poly HR, the catastrophic leave donation drive was not able to get started sooner and advertised in Cal Poly’s December Newsletter/Report to reach a wider array of potential donators from Cal Poly, instead of just my immediate unit of campus departments.

Matthew and I humbly ask you for any amount you might be able to give to help us catch up on our rent and not have any potential housing issues, as we have not been able to pay rent for November and December, so far.

Thank you for your kindness in reading my story and donating whatever your heart feels is right.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Korey Long