Support John’s Recovery from a Serious Fall

Good Evening, and greetings from Narragansett Territory…John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH hope all is well and good with all of youse and yours. I wish I had better news with us, but it seems we have more troubles on the horizon. John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH fell badly backwards during the afternoon of February 2, 2025 in Coventry, R.I. We were going to visit one of his relatives, and he fell backwards onto the pavement.

John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH hit his head on the pavement, and fell on his left side of his body. Coventry EMS took him to Rhode Island Hospital because John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH has pre-existing medical conditions. I stayed with him the whole time at the Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Room, and at around 4:00 a.m. the next day, February 3, 2025, I was told that visitors are not allowed to go to the Rhode Island Hospital Patient Co-Op building until 10:00 a.m. daily. There are set visiting hours.

John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH had a small left-side brain bleed, broke his left femur and some ribs on the left side of his body. John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH was transferred to Kent Regency in Warwick, R.I. and he is there now. John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH has not worked since he got injured. Additionally, John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH has two insurances to cover his care at Kent Regency, but the Medicare coverage ends February 21, 2025, and the insurance that I get through my job has a co-pay of $2,000.00.

John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH asked me to organize a GoFundMe page for us to help with the $2,000.00 co-pay, and for March rent which is $1,500.00. I am the only one working, and what I make will not cover the expenses that are coming. We asked John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH’s tribe, the Narragansett Nation, but they are a last resort, according to the Narragansett Indian Health Service Contract Services Department. The workers there advised us that we need to organize “charity care,” before the Narragansett Nation I.H.S. may assist.

John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH is very worried that we will not be able to pay the March rent, and to organize the $2,000.00 for him to be at Kent Regency from February 21 to March 6, 2025, according to his social worker Melissa. I am attending a “patient care,” meeting for John on the 20th, and I can give an update on when John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH may be discharged. The discharge date is a tentative date because it depends on how hare John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH works on his physical therapy and exercises.

Currently, John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH told me this morning that “I feel pretty good.” But, he does have pain in the left hip area and his chronic back pain. Some mornings when I call him, he sounds miserable, and then, like morning, February 15, 2025, John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH feels good. But, as we continued talking over the cell phone, he said, “My leg is starting to hurt.”

For me, I am working full-time at the Tomaquag Museum which offers the medical insurance to me and John/Chris/Crit/CJ/Christjohn/JCH. But, my pay is modest. I am saving half of my paycheck for the rent, and I will, most likely, give my entire check to rent. But, it won’t meet the $1,500.00.

I apologize that we have to resort to GoFundMe because I had to do a GoFundMe for my trip to Washington, D.C. last spring when I was selected to be a part of the Friends Committee on Legislation (FLC) Spring Lobby Weekend where we, participants, lobbied members of Congress to pass the Truth and Healing Commission Indian Boarding School Policies Act (H.R. 7227). On December 20, 2024, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S.1723).

At any event, thank you for what you can give, and we appreciate it immensely. We wish we had better news to share. John said to me in the midst of his pain, “We just can’t catch a break!”

Information on the Truth and Healing Commission Indian Boarding School Policies Act (H.R.7227).

This Week in the World: Senate Passes Truth and Healing Commission Bill! | Friends Committee On National Legislation

The Indian boarding school bill