Support Rodney's Recovery from Pneumonia

I'm not sure if you know me and my family or not, but for some reason, you're here, so I'm going to share a story with you about my parents and the difficult road they've been travelling since 2018 when a huge SUV driving in the opposite lane slid on ice and hit my Dad head on in his lane totaling their car. Had there not been airbags, we were told he would not have survived the accident.

After that accident my Dad spent 6 months in the hospital - steel rods placed in his back for his fractured spine, an ostomy bag to allow his punctured colon to heal which has since been reversed, and there were many times in that 6 month period that we weren't sure he was going to come home. He did come home, but his life was forever changed by that one moment in time and he has struggled with many health difficulties ever since.

Now, we come to the current struggle they are facing where my Dad has been in the hospital since about October 17th when they found out that he had contracted aspiration pneumonia due to his esophageal dysphasia (swallowing issue) that allows him to unintentionally inhale saliva, food, liquids, etc., after taking him to the emergency room to assess pain in his side after a fall that my Mom was concerned could be a broken rib or something else. It's been a rough road fighting this pneumonia off, he spent most of the time in ICU with respiratory teams and nurses helping him clear his lungs by suctioning them out since he wasn't strong enough to cough it out on his own.

My Dad is stubborn and clearly a fighter, he has been giving every crap hand he's been dealt a run for it's money and he finally made it into rehab at the nursing home. The problem there is that time is running out and as of 11/20/24 Medicare will stop paying and his stay at the nursing home and everything involved with it, will all become out of pocket expenses for my parents - it will cost $204/day just to keep him in his room, that's not counting all the other things involved in his care (medications, etc.). He is not ready to come home, he is still struggling with limited mobility from how long he was bed ridden (mobility is already a weak area since his accident to begin with) and he is on a pureed diet because of his aspiration risk, we're not sure when/if he will be able to go back to a regular diet.

My mom herself cannot care for my Dad at home in the state he is right now, there has already been so much that she has to tend to for his care and helping him get around since the accident and now my Dad requires a even more help. He cannot get out of bed on his own or walk without close supervision and someone right with him since he is at a high fall risk. She would need to make everything he will need to eat in pureed form and she is not experienced or really equipped for that either, although this is the lesser of the difficulties that they face.

We don't know how much more time Dad needs in rehab and Medicaid is not an option, if they did go that route, my parents house/property would be at risk since they would go after any assets to cover the cost of care. We just know he needs more time for the staff to work with him and help get him into a place where he is ready to come home, not because they have no other choice due to cost - this is where this fundraiser comes in, we are asking you to please consider donating and help give my parents to be able to afford the continued costs and give my Dad more time in rehab so that my Mom is able to better handle his needs when he does finally come home. It would mean the world and it would help them more than you could even begin to know!