Rob's Clot Buster

Hi there!

My name is Audra Tempesta, or according to Robie, "Audra Anne".

I'm here to help soften the blow of recent, unexpected medical bills for my Uncle, Rob Clark.

Saturday morning, Robie took an emergency ambulance ride from Kenosha to St. Luke's because of what turns out to be a SMV (blood clot in his belly).

Crippling pain and other yucky stuff tipped the ER docs off to think further than just a stomach bug. A CT scan was done, and the ambulance queued up. This type of clot forms in the veins that drain blood from your intestines. This can be very damaging to your intestines and other organs. It is extremely serious, and like Robie told me when I first saw him, "Audra Anne! This is life-threatening!"

Yes, yes it is.

He's had 2 procedures to help shrink the clot. He's on a Heparin drip, which is a "clot buster." The NG tube was removed on day 2 (thankfully), but he's hooked up to a whole cocktail of drips and bags. The hope and goal is to avoid surgery completely. Today (12.17.24), he was able to have a cup of water. That's it.

He's going to be a St. Luke's resident for longer than anyone would really like. We're *hoping* he's home for Christmas.

The recently retired teacher was just in the play "A Christmas Carol," playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge (fitting ). Clearly, he had to hang his sleep cap.

I'm reaching out to friends and family from coast to coast to think about donating to help the Clark family with their upcoming medical expenses.

This Husband, Father, PoPo, Brother, Uncle, Friend, Teacher, and Mentor could really use our help.

Thank you for taking time to read this, and for your consideration.

And please keep Rob and MaryJo in your thoughts, prayers, and warm fuzzies.

I'll keep you posted with updates as they come available.