Please help my family as we support my brother in the ICU. My brother, Brady, has struggled with an opioid addiction since he was in high school. It’s cost him a lot. Despite the stigma around addicts, my brother is a good person and goes through long phases of recovery followed by relapses. He once admitted himself into the hospital after withdrawing cold-turkey for two weeks at home. The doctors told him he should’ve died from the withdrawal. That’s the kind of person he is. He’ll white-knuckle through to prove his own strength to himself.

After a recent relapse, he’d gone to work on the road to get himself away from the opportunity to use and get his life together again. On Wednesday, 07/09, while he was on the road to LA for a job, he overdosed in Denver at a truck stop and was found unresponsive in the bathroom. He was taken to St. Anthony Lakeland where he’s been on a ventilator ever since. He aspirated stomach acid, causing burns to his lungs. The effects of the overdose are easier to treat and fade quickly, but his lungs are now too inflamed and full of pneumonia to work on their own. All of our brothers and our parents have been here for 5 days now, seeing him daily. He improves very, very slowly and it’s unlikely he’ll even be out of the ICU this week. Because of his history of use, the sedatives aren’t working long term and because he has severe panic attacks when he wakes up, they’ve had to paralyze him. He frequently wakes up unable to move and has to be put under with new drugs.

My younger brothers are no longer able to continue to miss work and pay for hotels and food and needed to go home. I was at my first day at my new job the day we found out and they have been kind enough to allow me to continue to take leave until we know more. I am fortunate enough to be able to sustain my stay here, but it is much harder for my parents. My mom stays in Brady’s room with him day and night, but needs a place to shower, wash clothes, etc. Because only one person can stay with him, my dad also needs a hotel. On top of all of this, my brother is uninsured. The Cherokee Nation should help because he is a citizen, but getting them to cover hospital stays outside of tribal territory can be difficult. My parents collectively need $350 a night for a single hotel they can trade off in and an additional $400 a day for food as the hospital cafeteria is not cheap. Provided The Nation doesn’t cover his stay, we are looking at $25,000 a day in medical costs. Any overages in funds will be allocated to sending Brady to a rehab where he can finally get the help he needs.

If you have a family member who has struggled with addiction, you know how hard this can be. Please, help us continue to support him as long as we can.