Ray & Cindy Surgeon - Medical

Ray and Cindy Surgeon have had a long two months. Cindy has just recently shared the story of what has been going on (details shared by Cindy are copied below). In summary, Ray has been in the hospital since November 17th,. They have decent health insurance, but the out of pocket medical expenses for this long stay are staggering.

Ray is self-employed.  As such, there is no paid time off or other benefits. There has been no income with him not working, and it’s still unknown when he can return to work. Also, the company that Cindy has worked for the last 23 years closed on December 31st, and Cindy's job ended.  This is all on the heels of Ray and Cindy having helped their son, Chase, through hip replacement surgery in October.   Personal resources were quickly exhausted.

More than anything, Ray and Cindy need your prayers as they navigate this difficult time. They need your prayers as for health. They need your prayers for patience with the healing process.  They also need prayers for blessings with their employment and financial needs.

Now that they’ve shared the story, a small group of friends and family who love them and know that help is needed decided to start this campaign.  If you can help with a personal donation to assist with medical expenses and other household needs, we know it would be a blessing. They would never ask, or even accept one-on-one.  

Thanks for reading.

 
From Cindy on 1/21/2017: 
It’s been a LONG, LONG TWO MONTHS. On Nov. 17th, I took Ray to Providence ER as he said he felt “something” just wasn’t right. For a while, he’d been complaining of feeling unusually tired & lethargic (we thought pneumonia maybe?). Once admitted to the ER, the first shock of the night came when they took his blood pressure, it was 60/30. He was dehydrated & severely anemic. They suspected he had an internal bleed, but were unsure of the source. They infused him to increase his pressure & sent him to have a CT scan of his stomach. When they wheeled him next door for the scan, Ray coded on the CT table. By God’s good grace, the ER Dr. was right there (along with the “Code Blue” team). He performed CPR & and brought Ray back (breaking 8 ribs in the process). Since Ray was severely dehydrated, they tried (unsuccessfully) to get a central line in. Again (our second miracle of the night), a Pulmonary physician (who later became Ray’s “Critical Care” Dr) was in the ER & had the line in place in just under a minute. Ray spent three weeks in ICU (two of those LONG weeks on a ventilator). I can’t say enough about the ICU staff at Providence, they were simply incredible. Needless to say, we lived in the ICU waiting room for weeks on end. Ray was in a medically induced coma for week one, aided by propofol (Michael Jackson’s drug of choice) where the vent did all the work (never imagined we’d be spending Thanksgiving there). By week two (still on the ventilator), Ray started to develop some serious complications such as severe gout (we described his huge hands as “Hulk Hands”), pneumonia, and dehydration (then too much sodium) just to name a few. He had more CT Scans (checking for stroke/anoxia), X-rays & other tests than I can count. Week three in ICU, he developed an ESBL (“antibiotic resistant” UTI). We were forced to “suit up” in protective gear to visit. Week four, he was moved to a telemetry floor for an additional two weeks (we celebrated Christmas there). Once again, we faced new problems. Ray refused to eat (he lost 65 lbs) & he started having cognitive/memory issues. His team of physicians assured us those issues would disappear once he left the “hospital setting he’d known for six weeks”. I’m happy to report they were right. Just after Christmas, Ray was transferred to Mobile Infirmary’s “Rotary Rehab” program where he’s made incredible strides thanks to their awesome team of therapists. After being bedridden for six plus weeks, he’s basically had to re-learn to use all of his muscles. It looks as though he’ll be in the Rehab Ctr for another week or so & then finally make the journey back home. The culprit behind his initial problem? His critical care Dr. believes his blood thinner “Eliquis” caused a bleed in his GI system which in turn caused severe anemia.