The Berry family needs your Help

For those who know the Berry family know how difficult the past few months have been from them. With Tracy in the hospital/rehab for 85 days, his wife Sherry has carried the emotional (and financial) weight for their family. The Berry's have always been quick to help and support many families and friends without hesitation and now need our help.  Please consider helping them, it's their turn.

 

Read it from Sherry's view...

 

They say asking for help is one of the hardest things to do. Tracy and I have been married 28 years and have raised 3 kids (Anthony 27, Zachary 23 and Shelby 17). Our oldest and youngest live at home with the middle one away at college. We have faced medical crisis before with Tracy. He has been in end stage renal failure for 18 years. He has been on dialysis for a combined 15 year before and after a failed kidney transplant. Our youngest, Shelby has only ever known her father with health conditions. I never thought it would come to this but with mounting medical bills, expenses and having to take leave from our jobs we need to say help.

 

On June 16, 2021 Tracy went in for what was supposed to be a routine heart valve repair surgery. It was supposed to be a 3-hour surgery with a 5–10 day hospital stay and a 3-4 week recovery. The surgery ended up lasting 8 hours. He was in a medically induced coma for 28 days. He was on a ventilator for 39 and had a trach tube for 13 days. He had approximately 7-8 surgeries/procedures. I have honestly lost count. He has fought pneumonia, bacterial infections and viral infections. He suffered from ICU delirium for approximately 24 days. He spent 57 days at Virginia Mason in Seattle and then transferred to UW Medical Center for Inpatient rehabilitation for 28 days. Tracy spent a total of 85 days hospitalized. He has moved home and will be receiving home healthcare.

 

Now that Tracy is home, he is using both a walker and a wheelchair. He has had to learn how to walk and do most basic functions all over again. He can walk short distances with his walker but needs help standing and a spotter when he is walking. He requires minimal help dressing and other personal care. I have had to purchase many items to make his life and mine easier. There are still more things that we would like to purchase that would help him. Right now, he sits in his wheelchair or one chair that is high enough and has arms so he can get out of it with minimal assistance. We would like to get a lift recliner so that he may sit in a more comfortable chair during the day. His left foot drops so he needs a brace to help him walk, so we need to buy him adaptive shoes that will work better for his brace. I’m sure as time goes by other needs will arise but these are examples of immediate needs.

 

We have received the medical bill for his stay at Virginia Mason and it is roughly $3000. I thank God for the wonderful insurance I get through the school district. We haven’t received the bill from UW yet or what home healthcare will cost. I’m so grateful and blessed that I was able to continuously visit him whenever and however long I wanted but it wasn’t cheap. I’m estimating that I drove over 3200 miles this summer going back and forth to the hospitals nearly every day. It is 23-27 miles each way depending upon which hospital. I probably spent almost $500 on parking throughout the summer.

 

Tracy has been off from work since June 15th. His job paid him through July and has also paid out all his vacation and sick pay. They have been very understanding and are holding his job so far. He has applied for state medical leave, but it is still awaiting approval. I work for the school district and have a part time/summer job with a grocery store. I was of course off for the summer from my school but had to work evening shifts at the store over the summer to make sure I had gas and grocery money. They have been very understanding and letting me work when I can. Now that Tracy is home, I have taken leave from both jobs. I have about 30 days’ worth of sick leave from the school district. I haven’t been at the grocery store long enough to accrue much sick days.

 

This has been a long and stressful time for our family. The kids have been amazing and helped wherever they can. It was tough for them not seeing him for over a month and then seeing him in his delirium state. When I start to think about the big picture and how I’m going to handle taking care of Tracy and pay the bills I get overwhelmed. I’m trusting God will provide for upcoming bills and expenses.