On New Years Eve, my dad Brian was enjoying a Caribbean holiday in the Bahamas with his partner when he tripped and scraped his ankle. He cleaned it up and went back to enjoying his vacation — swimming with the pigs, riding down waterslides, and devouring seafood. On Jan 3 they headed back to Florida and on the way home he became violently ill. Within hours, he was admitted to a hospital in Ft Lauderdale for severe septic shock, was intubated, and placed on a ventilator. The hospital suspected necrotizing fasciitis — also known as flesh-eating bacteria — though he had none of the normal symptoms and no obvious wound outside of swelling in his ankle the doctors proactively rushed him into emergency surgery to remove as much of the suspected infected tissue as possible - an act that saved his life.

Over the next few days, the diagnosis was confirmed, but sepsis was wreaking havoc. Brian’s liver, kidneys, and lungs failed while he was in septic shock and he was placed in an induced coma on life support. His ankle became gangrenous, and most of the flesh from his ankle to his lower calf had to be removed down to the bone. His daughters and his partner, who had only moved in with him a day before their trip to the Bahamas, arranged to be by his side, and his son-in-law flew down to Florida to drive his three dogs back to Maryland where they could be cared for. Adding to the tragedy of the situation Lily, his elderly dog, had cancer and had reached the end of her life, requiring the family to make the difficult decision to euthanize her before Brian was off life support. His granddaughter, who was raised with Lily, stayed by Lily's side as she transitioned so she wouldn't be alone.

The doctors put his odds of surviving at 10% or lower, but miraculously, after a week of nonstop antibiotics and life support, he cleared the infection and his lungs and liver began to recover.

When he was well enough, Brian received a muscle flap and skin graft to replace the missing flesh. The wound was so large that surgeons had to take his entire right latissimus dorsi muscle and a significant piece of skin from his thigh, requiring another ICU stay. As of today, both kidneys are still in failure, and he receives daily dialysis with the hope and doctors' expectations they'll recover. He has developed severe ICU myopathy, leaving him weak and bed bound, and has needed multiple blood transfusions due to anemia.

Next week, he should be transferred to a long-term rehab facility by his home so he can receive intensive PT and re-learn how to walk and use his limbs. He is doing his best to maintain a positive attitude despite waking up to this nightmare—cracking jokes (that no one but his daughter seems to understand, which is leading to delightful conversations about whether or not he's delirious) and lavishing compliments on the nursing staff so they keep the ice water flowing.

Of course, all of this is extremely expensive—from medical bills, to pet care for his remaining dogs and two cats, to travel expenses for the family and their time away from work to care for him. He’s currently in a hospital in Ft Lauderdale, but his partner lives in Tampa with him, his eldest daughter lives in Maryland, and his youngest lives in Germany. He will be unable to work for at least the next 3 months, and while he is fortunate enough to have health insurance and short and long term disability coverage, it won't be enough to cover everything that's piling up.

Brian is seeking financial support from his community, friends, and family to ease the burden and help him get back on his feet. Anything you can donate will be extremely appreciated and will go towards helping get Brian back on his feet (literally and figuratively). Thank you so much for your support.