Timothy Cassens

Hello! My name is Laura. On Sept. 29, 2023, my brother Tim Cassens, a 1977 graduate of Hermiston High School, was involved in a freak incident at his place of employment, the Walmart store in Commerce City, CO where he works in the tire/oil change department. Tim was finishing up with a customer at the counter when he suddenly passed out and collapsed. When Tim woke up, he was lying on the floor, unable to move. Paramedics were called and Tim was transported to the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, CO. After a quick examination it was determined that Tim had suffered a broken neck from his fall to the floor, which may have included hitting a door jam on the way down. Tim was suffering from a complete dislocation of C4-5 in his neck. He was rushed into emergency spinal surgery.

Luckily U of CO hospital has one of the best spinal surgeon teams in the state and they were able to get him into surgery quickly to hopefully minimize possible spinal damage. Tim was left paralyzed from the injury. But after the surgery and a few days of healing, Tim started getting some feeling and movement, first in his legs and feet, and then after another week, feeling and movement started returning to his arms and hands.

In the meantime, Tim needed to wear a large brace on his neck which limits head & neck movement. After suffering severe trauma and swelling to his throat area from the fall and from surgery, Tim was unable to swallow any liquids or food for two weeks. He needed an oxygen mask. A week after the surgery, doctors where able to surgically insert a feeding tube into his abdomen so that he could receive nutrition and medications without the IV.

The question remained, what caused Tim to collapse into unconsciousness while at work? During Tim’s first few days at the hospital, it was determined that Tim had a low heart rate of 50-57 bpm. And during the first few days Tim had what they called a “pause”. During a “pause”, his heart rate would dramatically slow to 20-24 bpm. The first night that I was there with Tim which was 4 nights after his spine surgery, he had a “pause” in which his heart completely stopped for a period of 7 ½ seconds. The machines flashed, alarms went off, the heart rate and BP went to zero. Of course, I panicked and jumped up running to the door, but, of course, was quickly met by 6 or 7 medical staff running in. They did not have to paddle Tim, luckily his heart started on its own with them shaking Tim and calling his name. Tim had three more of these complete pauses where his HR slowed to zero while I was still there. They each lasted 5-9 seconds. Of course, heart specialists came in to give tests to Tim and medication to keep the HR up. It was determined that Tim would need a permanent heart monitor & defibrillator surgically implanted. That procedure was eventually done 8 days after his spinal surgery and admittance to ICU.

As good news, Tim is slowly getting more feeling and movement back into his limbs. How much is yet to be determined, but the doctors are optimistic. With healing and physical therapy, Tim should have a lot of his movement and feeling back, which is good, Thank the Lord. Tim spent two ½ weeks in the Intensive Care Unit at U of CO Hospital. Then a week in the Cardio Unit and has now been transferred to a specialty Rehab Center. He has been there since Oct 22, 2023.

And, now, the reason we are on Go Fund Me. The sad news is, that Tim was turned down for Workman’s Comp from Walmart. They say the reason for his collapse was not work related. Tim was at work and working when this incident happened, and Walmart knows from Tim’s medical and health records that this was an undocumented health issue. Tim was unaware that he had a slow heartbeat and that he was prone to “pauses” since he had never had these health issues in the past. And, as you may assume, being a part time employee of Walmart, Tim did not have health insurance. Being a citizen in good standing, and being 65, it is not easy to find a good job with health insurance. So Tim was doing what he needs to do, he was working for an income and was not living off the state. Unfortunately, since Tim was working, he had not completed his Medicare forms.

Since Tim has been rejected by workman’s comp, and he has no insurance, his bills are starting to mount up. We do not know yet how much of the hospital bills will be paid. That is still being worked on. But at this time, Tim has not been unable to access his bank account, which is not very substantial, because of being bed ridden and having limited use of his hands. Tim only has a few friends that he can rely on for help. Tim has never been married and his sisters live 2000 miles away. He did not have any bill pays set up on his phone. Tim is one of those that does not trust electronics. He has a cell phone but does not use computers or social media.

Bills that Tim are now late on are three months of rent and utilities. Luckily his landlord is being understanding and is holding his apartment. Tim will be leaving Rehab within the next few weeks. When Tim is released from rehab will need:

a. a full-time care giver for several months which could be as much as $3000/month

b. he will need a wheelchair and a walker,

c. he’ll need to pay his cell phone bills,

d. he will need to start purchasing food and

e. start paying for his rent again.

I have set up this Go Fund Me page for Tim in hopes that his family, friends, and classmates may be able to help Tim with a financial donation to get him by over the next few months. With no income, he is financially in need. Thank you to anyone who is willing to help with any amount. Every little bit will be helpful to help Tim get back to a normal life. Thank you.