My name is James Hayes. Most of my friends know me as Jay. I am asking for help in paying for ongoing medical care expenses following an adverse result after a surgery.

I had been dealing with some issues with numbness in my feet and legs for a few years. It particularly caused issues when I was on the Praise Team at church and basically in places where I would need to stand for more than about 10 or 15 minutes solid. It was annoying but somewhat manageable. Earlier this year, I began to search for a solution to the issues.

Through an MRI, compression of my spinal cord was found. I was told that a laminectomy surgery should be able to resolve my issues and that it was a fairly simple surgery. After the surgery, I could go home outpatient, or I'd have at worst a one-night stay in the hospital.

So we scheduled the surgery for the morning of July 25th. After the surgery, I was rolled into a recovery room. I noticed after a few hours that I hadn't moved, so I wondered if we had any issues. We found that I had lost most feeling and muscular control below my waist. They believed that after being compressed for so long and then suddenly being uncompressed, my spinal cord had swollen up, causing it to "shock" my system.

Since that day, my life has been (pardon my language) a living hell. I have been in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in both Tallahassee (TMH and 2 SNFs) and Jacksonville (Brooks Rehabilitation) since that day. I've been told that full recovery may be possible, but it may take a couple of years. I've begun to recover a little bit of movement and strength, but it is extremely slow going and not really functional at this point.

Now I'm facing another problem. My insurance benefit for skilled nursing facilities for this year has run out. I've not really recovered enough to safely go home on my own, but I may be forced to do exactly that. The out-of-pocket cost to stay at my current facility is prohibitive. I don't really have a caregiver that can be with me all the time. Home health may be a possibility, but that can get expensive and may be limited in how much help can be provided. I imagine most of the funds raised would go toward this. Interestingly enough, if I am able to go home and get enough care, I should be able to go back to work (I worked remotely) and get back to earning a regular income.

Quite frankly, even over 3 months after the fact, this is a new reality I am still trying to wrap my brain around.

So I am asking for assistance here. To be honest, I have no idea how much it would eventually cost. Anything that you could contribute would be greatly appreciated.