Stand by Chris After His Serious Fall

On Friday, January 3rd, my father-in-law & everyone’s beloved Chris & neighborhood sensation, fell off his ladder at work & has been in the ICU since then! (It’s 01/06/25 today).

Initially on Friday, his boss called Chris’ son when Chris was in the ambulance. We were only told that Chris had fallen & hit his head when our girls were about to walk out the door to leave for the day. Flooded with emotions, we forgot their lunch boxes & envisioned the worst…

Chris has always been the life of the party, the one that would do anything to make others laugh, the one that would give the literal shirt off his back for anybody (literally-he gave his shoes away to a neighbor). Close to our hearts, not only is he all of that, but he’s a grandpa to our 3 young littles as well. He plays that role quite well too!!! Thinking of our lives without him had me crying. The kids still need their grandpa, & we still need him. What a dull future to imagine without him & his full-of-life persona. When an event like this happens, it just reminds you how lucky you are to still have your family & to not take one day for granted.

The second update we got upon his hospital ICU admission was that he had a brain bleed, a potential broken tailbone, maybe broken bones in his leg as his leg was in pain, he was wearing a neck brace, & that he had a gash on the back of his head. We were so nervous & felt like he’d be crushed if he was forced to move due to not working.

Diagnostics then showed that although his leg was pretty messed up from the way he went down (& couldn’t walk on it), luckily he didn’t break bones in his leg. He did have some fractures in his back by the tailbone & further up as well. Also, his brain bleed ceased the next time they checked! But he did get 15 staples in the back of his head.

As of today, he’s still in the ICU but he’s moving to a step-down unit (I believe tonight). He won’t need surgery for the back!

He’s started PT today in the hospital, & still needs to rest & they want to see him more self-sufficient & capable of walking well consistently. He’ll take the body brace home & use a walker at first.

This is way good news compared to what we initially thought, but Chris still won’t be able to return to work for quite some time & this will cause him unnecessary financial stress.

For over a decade, Chris has cooked & fed so many neighbors, friends & strangers (genuinely every week), helped everybody any way he could, done thoughtful things, & is generally just a high-vibrational & kind person. He is the core of his community (one could say a mini celebrity), his demeanor (hilarious), & happy spirit just completely fosters a sense of community amongst those he knows. Anybody that has the pleasure of knowing Chris is a better person for it. He is the definition of “he lights up the room.” I think everybody would agree he is a one-of-a-kind human & I am personally grateful to know him.

While it does look like Chris will make a full recovery, I still believe this man deserves any support people can give, as every contribution will make a difference.

He’s going to have crazy high hospital bills, but even more pressing than that are his current month-to-month bills. Would love to see the community that he’s taken care of, give back to this wonderful human being any way they can. We all know he’d do the same!

♥️

Update on January 14:

Chris was discharged from the ICU and has been resting at home for a few days. He has this pretty heavy duty brace to wear that will aid in stabilizing his back & preventing any further injury.

Still has some bruising & feeling pretty sore & weak, but he’s doing PT walks to the stop sign everyday. Otherwise taking it really easy & trying to rest so his body will heal as quick as possible.

He’s still alcohol & cigarette free!!! He’s taking his healing very seriously as he’s eager to get back to being able to work.

But, his doctor said not to carry anything heavier than a milk jug..While we’re all grateful he’s discharged from the hospital it will still be awhile until he can lift heavy objects (such as a ladder & all the other equipment for work) or until he’s able to climb a ladder.

He won’t be able to return to work for three months. $6,000 would cover his bills for three months.

It’s one thing trying to heal, but it’s a lot easier to rest if you don’t have to worry about the financial strain as much from being out of work. If you’re able to help out financially I know it would mean the world to him as it’s stressful knowing you’re physically unable to get back up on that ladder, which pays the bills!

Funds will be used to pay his living expenses (phone, electric, food, water, rent, etc.) until he’s back at work again, & the rest will go towards medical bills.