The End of Heart Failure

We finally got here everyone. 10 years ago, Oct 28th, 2013 my life shifted when I almost left you all for the first time when I suffered from Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). Without the quick actions of a loved one and proximity to a heart trauma hospital this story ends in 35 seconds. But thankfully I recovered and lived pretty normally for a few years. That was until April 2018 when my health took a terrible turn and I Had to have a Left Ventricular Assistance Device (LVAD) placed. Without it and a number of other supportive procedures to get me a fighting chance to survive the implant, this story once again stops there. This time we were able to move fast enough and with enough forsite that on my birthday 7/14/2023, I can finally close the chapter on Heart Failure as I have received the gift of a donated heart.

With that close comes a lifetime of new challenges, the least of which does include financial obligations which is why I am requesting help with donations. We are hoping to raise, at this time approx 15000. The initial bulk of this (~8000) is directly meant to cover required co-pays, the out of pocket payment required by insurance. (~2000) is targeted at previous bills from labs and specialists. (~2000) is aimed at offsetting expenses in travel and lodging incurred by caregivers during this hospital stay and whatever we can collect after is gathered in preparation for home health services, unavoidable follow up visits and bills that just show up after trying to account for all other charges. I wish I had a better breakdown to know exactly what we should expect but I can assure that any and all funds will be applied to the resolution of bills and expenses from these three events.

Thank you for reading my story, and thank you for all the help you can give.

Michael fka “Mecha-Crigler” Crigler