Support for Tim & Donna Longchamp
Donation protected
On December 10th, 2018 my parents Tim and Donna left home in Central Vermont and headed to Boston. My dad needed open heart surgery. He had a heart defect that could no longer be managed with medication: Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. The effects of his condition made it so he couldn't even walk a flight of stairs without crushing chest pain and shortness of breath. He was at a “high risk for sudden cardiac death.”
Hopeful for better quality of life and the ability to play with his grandchildren, Tim went into open-heart surgery December 12th. Things did not go routinely; there were multiple complications. They took him back in for another open-heart surgery on December 20th, and although the heart defect was now repaired the complications continued. The worst news came on Christmas day when we learned he had suffered a large stroke affecting his right side. He also developed a staph blood infection, and at times it looked like he might not pull through. However, he fought through it all with Donna always by his side. He remained in the ICU in Boston until January 12th when we were able to have him transferred to University of Vermont (UVM) Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont, closer to home.
Once at UVM Medical Center Tim began speech, occupational, and physical therapy. He made improvements daily and was transferred to the Fanny Allen stroke rehab program in Colchester on January 17th. At this point Donna was commuting daily to Colchester, about an hour away from home, to be with Tim and help in his recovery.
On the evening of January 22nd, on her way home from Fanny Allen, Donna was struck in a collision minutes from home. She broke the windshield with her left hand, spraining it (she is left handed). The car was totalled. While Tim was out of work the car payment was being covered by disability insurance. They had an extended warranty and new snow tires. They had everything set until the car was totalled. Insurance paid off the loan they had on the car, but with Tim unable to work, they are unable to finance a replacement vehicle. Donna has recently resumed working part time after recovering from her hand injury. However, once Tim returns home, she will be his primary caregiver and we are unsure at this time how this will affect her ability to work outside the home.
Tim has worked exceedingly hard in his therapy sessions and has made considerable progress. He is learning to walk again with assistive equipment but needs to use a wheelchair most of the time. He has progressed from no speech to being able to communicate with short phrases. He is anticipated to be discharged home next week, March 12th. For the first time in almost 3 months he will be able to return to his little yellow house, his family, and his pets, including his treasured chickens.
Tim and Donna are the type of people that always strive to help others; they are hardworking and involved in their church community. Together they have endured the ups and downs of almost 34 years of marriage and are currently experiencing a time of hardship.
There is still a long road of recovery ahead for Tim. There will be lots of doctors’ appointments and therapy, and Donna will need to transport him to and from. This page has been started to help my parents with financial support during this difficult time. Funds raised with go towards the growing amount of medical bills, daily living expenses, and our efforts to get Donna into a reliable vehicle that will accommodate Tim's mobility needs.
All support whether financial or in the form of prayer is greatly appreciated.
Hopeful for better quality of life and the ability to play with his grandchildren, Tim went into open-heart surgery December 12th. Things did not go routinely; there were multiple complications. They took him back in for another open-heart surgery on December 20th, and although the heart defect was now repaired the complications continued. The worst news came on Christmas day when we learned he had suffered a large stroke affecting his right side. He also developed a staph blood infection, and at times it looked like he might not pull through. However, he fought through it all with Donna always by his side. He remained in the ICU in Boston until January 12th when we were able to have him transferred to University of Vermont (UVM) Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont, closer to home.
Once at UVM Medical Center Tim began speech, occupational, and physical therapy. He made improvements daily and was transferred to the Fanny Allen stroke rehab program in Colchester on January 17th. At this point Donna was commuting daily to Colchester, about an hour away from home, to be with Tim and help in his recovery.
On the evening of January 22nd, on her way home from Fanny Allen, Donna was struck in a collision minutes from home. She broke the windshield with her left hand, spraining it (she is left handed). The car was totalled. While Tim was out of work the car payment was being covered by disability insurance. They had an extended warranty and new snow tires. They had everything set until the car was totalled. Insurance paid off the loan they had on the car, but with Tim unable to work, they are unable to finance a replacement vehicle. Donna has recently resumed working part time after recovering from her hand injury. However, once Tim returns home, she will be his primary caregiver and we are unsure at this time how this will affect her ability to work outside the home.
Tim has worked exceedingly hard in his therapy sessions and has made considerable progress. He is learning to walk again with assistive equipment but needs to use a wheelchair most of the time. He has progressed from no speech to being able to communicate with short phrases. He is anticipated to be discharged home next week, March 12th. For the first time in almost 3 months he will be able to return to his little yellow house, his family, and his pets, including his treasured chickens.
Tim and Donna are the type of people that always strive to help others; they are hardworking and involved in their church community. Together they have endured the ups and downs of almost 34 years of marriage and are currently experiencing a time of hardship.
There is still a long road of recovery ahead for Tim. There will be lots of doctors’ appointments and therapy, and Donna will need to transport him to and from. This page has been started to help my parents with financial support during this difficult time. Funds raised with go towards the growing amount of medical bills, daily living expenses, and our efforts to get Donna into a reliable vehicle that will accommodate Tim's mobility needs.
All support whether financial or in the form of prayer is greatly appreciated.
Organizer
Nicole Ladd
Organizer
Barre, VT
