Rickey Neals Road to Recovery

In the words of his Daughter, Denver. 

Dad has been battling severe hip pain, lower back pain, and inability to walk long distances for well over a year now. We have been to far to many doctors chasing the problem.  He was told it was Sciatica, He was told he had Rheumatoid Arthritis, He has underwent multiple rounds of tests, medications, and an epidural. All which have not helped the problem.....

In early September, he was working on a car when his leg became totally numb and he began to fall, he did catch his self for the most part, but the numbness and tingling never eased up. As many of you know, Dad will tough it out as long as possible, which he did for several days until he decided it was time to go to the ER. The Emergency Room physician at Memorial in Hixson was the one who finally gave us long awaited answers to his continually worsening problem. She diagnosed Dads leg pain, numbness, and tingling as Peripheral Artery Disease and referred him to a Vascular Surgeon.

**Special Thanks to Jaclyn Franzen NP at Memorial for her excellent hard work and dedication to helping Dad.

So hears where we are today.....
Dad is currently unable to put any weight on his left leg and foot leaving him unable to walk. He is in a great deal of pain, along with the numbness and tingling being constant. He is also going a little stir crazy not being able to get out of the house a whole lot. Dad has been seen by a Vascular Surgeon and a Cardiologist. He does have a severe case of Peripheral Artery Disease which is severe plaque build up in his arteries. He is 100% blocked at the aortic artery, 95% blocked in the right leg, 75% blocked in the left leg, and 86% blocked at the systemic artery going to his left arm. His only option is to undergo aortic bifemoral bypass surgery. It is a bypass of the lower portion of arteries, from the abdomen down. We are looking at a week to 10 days hospital stay and 6 months recovery time.  
We are currently waiting on a scheduled day for surgery.

As most of you know, Dad is self employed, and so is Mom. Therefore neither of them have any paid vacation time or short term disability benefits, nothing. Dad has been out of work since that day back in September and Mom has been out a lot taking him to appointments. She is also looking at lots of time off work in the future. They're going to be doing everything they can to keep the lights on in the coming months. Medical bills are going to begin to roll in, medication costs, groceries, etc. 
You all know that Dad is not one to want to take anyone's money, but he would give it to you in a heartbeat. 
I want to try to keep this fund quiet from him for as long as possible because we all know he is not going to want to accept anything from anyone. In his eyes, He is the giver, not the receiver.  
Rickey Neal is a man who would give the shirt off his back for a friend and never expect anything in return.

Anything is very much appreciated & prayers are always welcome!

Please revert any questions or concerns you have about him to me, Denver. You can reach me on Facebook and I will give you my cell number. He is being very much overwhelmed with the phone calls and questions lately, please understand.