Support Philip Gilberti's Fight for Survival

Our dear friend Philip Gilberti needs help covering basic needs as he battles the whole-body-debilitating effects of myelomalacia, an irreversible progressive degradation of his spinal cord.

All of his hopes for managing the condition were completely devastated last month when he lost a malpractice trial against Dr. Magued Fadly, a pain-management physician who treated Philip and, according to his attorneys and their expert neuroradiologist, caused the myelomalacia. Evidence presented at the trial showed that in 2018, while attempting an epidural administration of a dye into the fluid sac that surrounds the spinal cord, Dr. Fadly instead went all the way into the spinal cord itself and injected the dye. He did this TWICE in the same spot and third time in another area. The dye was toxic to the cells inside the spinal cord and the symptoms Philip is experiencing now will only continue to get worse.

After the failed procedure, Philip never regained sensitivity between his waist and neck, has completely lost use of his left hand (dominant), has sever chronic pain and has had progressive, continued degradation of his neurological and muscular structure such that he requires daily assistance and care. He has been battling these effects for SIX YEARS as Dr. Fadly and his insurance company repeatedly tried to delay the trial from happening, likely in the hopes that Philip would just succumb to his condition before the trial would take place.

Philip’s life has been a tale of tragedy and triumph. At a very early age he discovered his prodigious skill at playing the piano, finding comfort and safety within the confines of his musical expression despite battling dyslexia and a very abusive home. He went on to win awards and perform at concert halls to huge audiences, and eventually found his way to Los Angeles, getting accepted to the acclaimed Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at USC.

Then in 2005 Philip was hit by a car while walking on a crosswalk in Hollywood. The resulting trial found the driver at fault, but Philip wasn’t awarded enough to cover the medical care and surgeries that followed (four knee surgeries, lower back and neck surgery). Despite this setback he managed to continue working and writing music.

In 2009 Philip was diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer and later in the year also suffered a stroke. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was also rear-ended by someone (their fault). He battled the cancer into remission and recovered from his stroke, but the car accident aggravated his previous spinal injuries.

In 2010 Philip suffered a cardiac arrest and had a near death experience that compelled him to continue living and sharing his gifts with the world.

In 2012 someone t-boned Philip’s car (their fault). And then in 2017, just a couple months after a second cervical fusion (spine surgery) he was rear-ended AGAIN by someone (their fault). At this point his cervical spinal pain was so severe that it required large doses of very powerful medications which had a further deteriorating effect on his day-to-day well being. In an effort to reduce these medications and their effects and improve his quality of daily life, he sought treatment from Dr. Fadly.

If you met Philip today you would be confused as to how someone who has undergone so much physical trauma and pain could still be so sweet, loving and kind. He is literally one of the most self-less, caring people you will ever meet. He has also volunteered a lot of his time to caring for orphaned bunnies, finding a kindred connection with them. His most recent endeavor is creating water-color art and he hopes to find a way to share this with a wider audience.

Despite all of his challenges, Philip is STILL HERE and is STILL FIGHTING. He wants to share his love and talent with the world, but he needs our help. He has an overwhelming amount of debt from six years of not being able to work due to his myelomalacia and would be grateful for any donation you are able to give towards his basic costs of food, clothing, rent, medical care, etc. If it is in your heart, please consider donating! Thank you!!