Imagine a master mechanic dedicated to quality service to his customers and his shop, only to have his career decimated by a work injury that went undiagnosed for too long. Imagine a capable man, a hard worker, who never went home until the job was done, reduced to a shell racked with pain, barely able to lift his head by the end of the day, staying later and later into the wee hours of the morning to complete jobs that once only took him a matter of hours. Imagine that man who dedicated so much of his time to employer’s shop that he held off on starting his own family, only to be let go from his employment after submitting doctors documentation requesting work restrictions in preparation for the upcoming surgery to repair the injury. This has been the life of Nate Phillips over the course of the last several years. I am writing this on the behalf of my husband, who has had limited mobility since his doctor took him off pain relievers in preparation for his surgery on May 18th. If you live around the Savannah, Ga area, you may know him as one of the most talented and honest auto technicians out there. He has always taken great pride in his work, striving to make the most quality repairs, while making the most for his customer’s money. What Happened: Several years ago, Nate left the car he was working on, to assist his coworker with a vehicle on a hydraulic lift. While assisting, a brake caliper that his coworker improperly secured, fell from the vehicle, hitting Nate on top of the head. Blacking out, Nate fell backwards on to an engine block in the next shop bay, waking up seconds later on the floor. Having a decent gash in his head, Nate then drove himself 20 minutes into Savannah, to the hospital. After receiving mediocre care from the hallway of the hospital’s ER, it was just a matter of days before he was back to work. Eventually the head wound healed fully, but there was a lingering back pain, thought to be a bruise from the fall. The hospital didn’t inspect his back at the time, so the pain was dismissed. Months later the back pain was unbearable and he was back at a doctor. MRIs revealed a fractured vertebrae, resulting in a bone spur that was digging into the muscles around his spine, but with months since his injury, no doctor he saw would agree that it happened during his head injury. This started the years long saga of constant pain management treatments, none of which made any difference to the increasing agony Nate was in. None of the doctors he saw would even consider other alternatives such as surgery, some even ignoring a growing numb spot on his back. Having tried everything recommended to him to help with the pain, but nothing working, frustrated and barely able to stand, Nate found a new doctor. April 2021, this doctor, a man, who seems to actually care about his patients, ordered new MRIs, and what he found caused him to insist on surgery for Nate’s back as quickly as it was possible to arrange. Initially, he wanted to admit Nate to the hospital and schedule surgery immediately. But Nate insisted he had to make arrangements with his work first. So surgery has been scheduled for May 18th.  The Diagnosis: The MRI’s revealed that Nate’s bone spur had been worn down, while he continued to work over the last few years. But all the difficulties caused by the bone spur, which inhibited his movement had created 7 bulging disks in his spine. One of these disks, the one located at the S5 vertebrae, is pressing dangerously on his spinal column, that it is a miracle that Nate had not already paralzed during his normal work routines.  The Treatment: Nate needs spinal decompression surgery at his S5 vertebrae. This surgery will grind into part of the bone of the vertebrae in order to give the disk more space and prevent the pressure being placed on his spine from severing his spinal cord. This is a dangerous surgery, where one slip from the surgeon could mean that Nate will be paralyzed and never able to work again. But without the surgery, he would live in intense pain unable to work, until he eventually became paralized. Why We Need Help: Mechanics are often paid by how many jobs they complete. Since his injury, Nate’s ability to move at a pace to complete jobs, had slowed down to a crawl. Often he would have to take breaks and lay on the cold concrete of the shop’s bathroom to sooth his back. And more often than not, he would have to stay late into the night to finish his jobs. Alone in the shop at night, I often worried for him, since many times he would not come home until long after midnight. Several occasions he did not come home at all and slept on the floor in order to be there for work the next day. With all this going on, Nate’s pay steadily decreased by almost 40% of what he had been getting at the shop only 3 years earlier when he could bill out 70-90 hours a week without a second thought. Now I work 2 part-time cashier jobs to supplement our income, but it barely covers groceries. We have no savings. Nate has been let go from the shop he has dedicated the last 8 years of his life to, only one business day after he submitted paperwork from his doctor for work restrictions for his safety. There is no way Nate will be able to find work in his condition, and even if he could, how long would it be before his back truly gives out? He needs this surgery to save his life, his career, our future, and the family we hope to one day have. But once he has the surgery, there will be recovery time where he cannot work. At least 2 weeks bedrest, with several more weeks of restricted movement, and then physical therapy. With Nate’s sudden unemployment, our health insurance will be nonexistent very shortly. Any funds we receive will be going directly going to the medical bills, and household utilities to keep us in our home while Nate recovers. Nate is not a man to ask for handouts. But we need help. Nate wants to go back to work. He wants to go back to making people’s cars run for them again, and customizing those special vehicles, and creating the fastest cars that fly down Roebling Road. But he can’t do that without help, not anymore. This is not a handout, but a hand up. Without this surgery and following aftercare, Nate would likely be trapped on disability. Immediate Bills:  Facility charge:  $28,587.00 owed Doctor's Down Payment: $2,535.00 paid

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Simon Peina

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Help Nate get back to Work after back injury.

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