Stroke Recovery Support For Buck
Donation protected
My dear friends (family of the heart) Maurice Buck Reidy and Fae Kontje Gibbs need help while recovering from and readjusting to life in the aftermath of the unexpected difficulties of Buck's stroke.
In Fae's own words:
"On Saturday night, 8/18/18, Buck finished his shift on the Chappy ferry and headed toward Oak Bluffs to see 2 of his granddaughters in a dance performance. He made it into his seat a couple of dances before intermission. When the lights came up he asked me if his eyes looked funny because, on the way there, his vision had suddenly gone all wonky. I grabbed him by the arm and said 'We're going to the ER.'
Buck was having a thalamic stroke. Thanks to swift, compassionate collaboration between the MVH ER & MGH Neurological unit via skype, a clot busting medication was administered, stemming the tide of increased damage.
He was air lifted to MGH where the doctors noted his progress over the following days as 'remarkable', due in no small part to the many loving, healing wishes that were aimed our way.
Buck was back home within 4 days, and outpatient therapies continue. Physically, he is in great shape. Socially, he is his happy-to-see you self. Cognitively, there is more to go, and we're looking for a good Neurologist to help guide us through this next part of his recovery.
It is crucial that the stress of his over-extended life style be renovated. In light of that, he is resigning from his law work. He hopes to eventually continue driving boats, and most especially to return to leading the meditation classes for prisoners in Barnstable & Plymouth County jails. The latter has been primarily self-funded and the former is highly seasonal. We are not sure when the doctors will give the ok for his return to work, or indeed what that work will be as we move into the colder months. I have also been less able to work during this time, as I support Buck in his recovery and take care of the daily tasks of our household.
We don't yet know exactly how much the medical bills will be. Medicare covers all but 20%, and that may be a hefty sum. And then there's the helicopter to MGH.
We have only a small buffer. Being primarily self-employed, neither of us has a pension or retirement plan. We took for granted that we were strong and healthy enough to just keep working in order to meet our financial needs. But life surprised us, and now we are scrambling to re-adjust. Some big changes lie ahead.
We figure that between his lost income and my reduced one we need around $50,000 to cover our known expenses for the next year.
So, here we are, rich in love and friendship, poor in cash.
Things will sort out, and we will get through. We appreciate, more profoundly than it is possible to express, the deeply meaningful help and care that is continually given us from you, our family and friends.
Thank you."
In Fae's own words:
"On Saturday night, 8/18/18, Buck finished his shift on the Chappy ferry and headed toward Oak Bluffs to see 2 of his granddaughters in a dance performance. He made it into his seat a couple of dances before intermission. When the lights came up he asked me if his eyes looked funny because, on the way there, his vision had suddenly gone all wonky. I grabbed him by the arm and said 'We're going to the ER.'
Buck was having a thalamic stroke. Thanks to swift, compassionate collaboration between the MVH ER & MGH Neurological unit via skype, a clot busting medication was administered, stemming the tide of increased damage.
He was air lifted to MGH where the doctors noted his progress over the following days as 'remarkable', due in no small part to the many loving, healing wishes that were aimed our way.
Buck was back home within 4 days, and outpatient therapies continue. Physically, he is in great shape. Socially, he is his happy-to-see you self. Cognitively, there is more to go, and we're looking for a good Neurologist to help guide us through this next part of his recovery.
It is crucial that the stress of his over-extended life style be renovated. In light of that, he is resigning from his law work. He hopes to eventually continue driving boats, and most especially to return to leading the meditation classes for prisoners in Barnstable & Plymouth County jails. The latter has been primarily self-funded and the former is highly seasonal. We are not sure when the doctors will give the ok for his return to work, or indeed what that work will be as we move into the colder months. I have also been less able to work during this time, as I support Buck in his recovery and take care of the daily tasks of our household.
We don't yet know exactly how much the medical bills will be. Medicare covers all but 20%, and that may be a hefty sum. And then there's the helicopter to MGH.
We have only a small buffer. Being primarily self-employed, neither of us has a pension or retirement plan. We took for granted that we were strong and healthy enough to just keep working in order to meet our financial needs. But life surprised us, and now we are scrambling to re-adjust. Some big changes lie ahead.
We figure that between his lost income and my reduced one we need around $50,000 to cover our known expenses for the next year.
So, here we are, rich in love and friendship, poor in cash.
Things will sort out, and we will get through. We appreciate, more profoundly than it is possible to express, the deeply meaningful help and care that is continually given us from you, our family and friends.
Thank you."
Organizer and beneficiary
Jeanie Hay Sternbach
Organizer
Tisbury, MA
Fae Kontje-Gibbs
Beneficiary
