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Hello! I am Chantel and I am writing this on behalf of my beloved husband, Christopher. Chris and I have been dating since 2011, when we were just teenagers in high school, and married since 2020, when the whole world was upside down. We have loved each other since school, getting our first apartment that had no furniture where we had to sit on the floor to watch Friends reruns on TV, with our roommate across the next two places we called home, then finally settling into our own home we bought with my family. We loved each other getting our first pet, trying to go to college and not quite managing it, through triumphs and valleys, and in sickness and in health. Unfortunately, now is one of those times that we love each other in sickness.

Chris is 30 years old and he survived a severe aortic dissection with critical limb ischemia on February 13, 2024. What started as a few days of back pain culminated when Chris went to walk our puppies in the snow, when he felt a sharp pain and suddenly couldn't walk. He tried to call for help but didn't quite manage it. By sheer luck, my mom went out to shovel our driveway and happened to see him stuck standing in the street. She tried to help him walk and he wasn't able to move as I quickly got the keys and brought him to the hospital. It took several hours to determine the best way to proceed, considering the state of Chris's end stage kidney failure (how lucky can a guy be?) and his left leg had no pulse or blood flow from 4pm until he had a grueling ten hour surgery at 1am on Valentine's day to repair the full length of his aorta, from his heart to his foot. The odds of misdiagnosis was astronomical considering 30 year olds almost never have aortic dissections, that most people with aortic dissections die before they make it to the hospital, and that the chances of survival we were given for that initial surgery was only 60-70%, even considering the prompt arrival at the hospital and deciding a plan for intervention. We are lucky, thankful, and blessed to have made it through that first night to be here today.

The next 28 days in the cardiothoracic intensive and intermediate care units were not much easier. In and out of sedation, intubation, pneumonia, ICU delirium, and the beginning of dialysis for the kidneys we had to kill in order to get the CT with contrast that would end up saving his life. Three chest tubes, four IV lines in, and eventually a permacath, each one with their own risk of infection, adding to the odds of complications. A fasciotomy on both sides of his left leg to relieve the pressure from the limb ischemia and a wound vac to follow suit.

Nearly a month after the worst day of our lives, we got the news that Chris would be able to come home. We have focused entirely on his survival, and his healing, that there was no thought about what comes next, as every day had to be day by day. He would be coming home with the wound vac, home nursing for wound care, physical therapy, a walker, outpatient dialysis, a myriad of follow up appointments, and so many activity restrictions, it would be easier to just list the things he is allowed to do. We have many more months of healing ahead of us before we can even start to think about reasonable accommodations to ask for before Chris can return to work. Sadly, healing is also not a free adventure so we are humbly asking for financial support to help get us through these months where Chris can start to resume his life after a brutal pause was placed upon it.

Here are a few things that donations will contribute to:

Emergent open heart surgery (tens of thousands of dollars, even after insurance)

Follow up appointments, copays, and prescriptions (many thousands of dollars, but a little more spread out as they are scheduled)

Recurring bills that need to get paid to keep us sheltered and cared for such as, but not limited to, health insurance (several thousand before Chris will be able to return to work)

Equipment needed to be discharged home such as the wound vac and walker (several hundred dollars)

Gas for vehicles to get Chris to these essential follow up appointments and services (probably hundreds before he can return to work)

Medications needed to keep Chris healthy (not too sure yet, but probably a hundred or so)

Groceries

Household goods, like preferred toothpaste and toilet paper

Maybe a sweet Lego set that would bring Chris joy if we manage to meet our goal and keep ourselves financially afloat while we navigate the next steps.

I have been lucky to have been able to love Chris for 13 years so far but I'm really looking forward to being able to spend however much time we have left together. It's my hope by starting this fundraiser that we can meet these upcoming years with joy and relative comfort rather than having to declare medical bankruptcy and muddy the waters for the next decade or so with obligations resulting from the worst day of our lives hanging over every day. If that means bearing my heart and soul to ask for compassion and support from strangers and loved ones online, then I am happy to do that.

If 6,000 people were to donate just $5 (the price of one coffee and donut from Dunkin Donuts), we would reach our goal!

If 3,000 people donated $10 (the price of a gift card you might buy for an office gift swap), we would reach our goal!

If 1,200 people donated $25 (the price of a pizza and a 2 liter soda), we would reach our goal!

If you read about our journey and made it to this point in the post, I thank you very sincerely from the bottom of my heart, whether you donate or not. Please consider sharing this fundraiser with anyone you think might be willing or able to help, as it is very appreciated.

-Chantel and Chris