Craig's Medical Fund
Donation protected
It has not been very long since I married my best friend and soulmate. This is us on our late October wedding day.
We were so excited to begin our lives, together and we had just settled into our home, when on November 4th, my husband, Craig, began with symptoms he thought might be the flu. On Thursday November 5th, he mentioned he'd never felt a pain like this in his stomach before. I had a very bad feeling about it as I was witnessing how the excruciating pain on his face was evident.
During this time, Craig, who is a Journeyman Plumber for a small business, hesitated to go to the doctor because he knew if it might be a serious illness, we lacked the resources to cover the costs of a large hospital bill. You see, I’m a self-employed interior designer and don’t have the benefits of someone working for a larger company. We’ve both worked very hard and saved for a rainy day but what happened isn’t exactly what we were expecting, especially when we both subscribe to a healthy active lifestyle. He wanted to keep working so as not to lose any pay.
On November 6th I made him an appointment to see a doctor. The doctor said that it could be appendicitis but sometimes people can beat it on their own. He suggested Craig should get a CT scan. When Craig found out the cost of the scan without insurance coverage, he decided to try to beat it on his own.
On Sunday November 8th I decided not to work because he was pale and was stumbling around but he still would not give in. His mother came over to intervene and he promised her he would go to the hospital in the morning. He was scared to go in over the weekend because the costs are triple.
On Monday, November 9th, he woke up and went to get ready for his day but he began blacking out. He didn't argue with me this time and I took him in to the Riverton Emergency Room at about 8:20 am. From the CT scan they could see something was wrong and there was so much swelling around the area the surgeon prepared me that his appendix may have already burst. I knew that could make for a dangerous outcome.
This is where our day ended – an emergency surgery and a hospital stay . . .
Craig underwent what was supposed to be a forty-five minute surgery but it lasted for over two hours. The surgeon said his appendix had perforated and it had probably been days ago.
Because of the mounting hospital bills, Craig wanted to go home as soon as possible and I’m now taking care of him so he won’t worry. It will be weeks before he is able to return to work and I’m going to have to be home more to help with his recovery which has put a halt on my bringing in money as well.
At present, our bills are exceeding $30,000.00 and we are still waiting for more to come. We have a mortgage and our monthly bills to manage, as well as the care of our combined family of five.
My husband has always prided himself in taking care of me and our family and worked hard so that we could be in a good place when we got married. Now, I want to help take care of him and to take away the burden we’re going to face when these bills come due. We’re both very worried about how we can do it and how much further behind we might get but I don’t want it to be at the expense of his health and recovery.
I know many people may think of an appendectomy as a standard procedure. For us, it was a major medical emergency and a very costly one.
Thank you so much for considering a donation to our fund. We will appreciate it more than you can ever know.
April Elizabeth Hewitt
We were so excited to begin our lives, together and we had just settled into our home, when on November 4th, my husband, Craig, began with symptoms he thought might be the flu. On Thursday November 5th, he mentioned he'd never felt a pain like this in his stomach before. I had a very bad feeling about it as I was witnessing how the excruciating pain on his face was evident.
During this time, Craig, who is a Journeyman Plumber for a small business, hesitated to go to the doctor because he knew if it might be a serious illness, we lacked the resources to cover the costs of a large hospital bill. You see, I’m a self-employed interior designer and don’t have the benefits of someone working for a larger company. We’ve both worked very hard and saved for a rainy day but what happened isn’t exactly what we were expecting, especially when we both subscribe to a healthy active lifestyle. He wanted to keep working so as not to lose any pay.
On November 6th I made him an appointment to see a doctor. The doctor said that it could be appendicitis but sometimes people can beat it on their own. He suggested Craig should get a CT scan. When Craig found out the cost of the scan without insurance coverage, he decided to try to beat it on his own.
On Sunday November 8th I decided not to work because he was pale and was stumbling around but he still would not give in. His mother came over to intervene and he promised her he would go to the hospital in the morning. He was scared to go in over the weekend because the costs are triple.
On Monday, November 9th, he woke up and went to get ready for his day but he began blacking out. He didn't argue with me this time and I took him in to the Riverton Emergency Room at about 8:20 am. From the CT scan they could see something was wrong and there was so much swelling around the area the surgeon prepared me that his appendix may have already burst. I knew that could make for a dangerous outcome.
This is where our day ended – an emergency surgery and a hospital stay . . .
Craig underwent what was supposed to be a forty-five minute surgery but it lasted for over two hours. The surgeon said his appendix had perforated and it had probably been days ago.
Because of the mounting hospital bills, Craig wanted to go home as soon as possible and I’m now taking care of him so he won’t worry. It will be weeks before he is able to return to work and I’m going to have to be home more to help with his recovery which has put a halt on my bringing in money as well.
At present, our bills are exceeding $30,000.00 and we are still waiting for more to come. We have a mortgage and our monthly bills to manage, as well as the care of our combined family of five.
My husband has always prided himself in taking care of me and our family and worked hard so that we could be in a good place when we got married. Now, I want to help take care of him and to take away the burden we’re going to face when these bills come due. We’re both very worried about how we can do it and how much further behind we might get but I don’t want it to be at the expense of his health and recovery.
I know many people may think of an appendectomy as a standard procedure. For us, it was a major medical emergency and a very costly one.
Thank you so much for considering a donation to our fund. We will appreciate it more than you can ever know.
April Elizabeth Hewitt
Organizer
April Elizabeth Hewitt
Organizer
Herriman, UT
