A week or so after new years my husband (raging type 2 diabetic, insulin dependent) had a banana pudding sent him into DKA and we found ourselves in the emergency room. He was treated sent home and I found him the next morning positioned by what looked like, the exorcist, positioned his neck. I knew by looking at him his neck was broke. I called 911 and found that he would need a very complex surgery. He had a C3-superior T1 laminectomies decompression of spinanl cord, C2-T2 dorsal internal fixation and fusion.
The next couple months was very hard. We lived in UAB hospital from January until end of March. We later learned he was incomplete quadriplegic with sensation. He cannot do any ADL's himself or better known as putting clothes on, eating, bathing, driving, walking around orwheeling around independently. He has almost complete paralysis in both arms, he has some movement of the right leg (left is impaired). He is no longer weight bearing to stand and transferring. He requires a lift (as I've hurt my back badly carrying him up and down the step to our home) and 24/7 round the clock care ( I am his only caregive). He cannot turn his head. We do not have a hospital bed with specialty air mattress for his diabetic pressure sores. We cannot afford these items as SSI is dragging behinds with his disability. I have been to every hospitalization without fail. He cannot even push a nurse call button. In February, he went into respiratory failure again as a result of aspiration. I had to make a very difficult decision to put him on a tracheostomy ventilater and put a PEG tube in exclusively for feeding and meditation. He has a blood clot in his right lung. He's had MRSA, esophageal collapse, and a pulmonary abcess.
In July he had his feeding/medication PEG tube replaced at UAB and as result contracted psuedomonas and stenmo. We had another hospitalization at Brookwood for over a week to treat but then we went home a week...it colonized in his lungs which is harder to treat and get rid of than just an infection. We came to Ascension for treatment because Brookwood was very ugly while we were there. We stayed a week and a half there treating psuedomonas colonization and streptococcus. We went home a month and Friday before last we went back to UAB for his rehabilitation appointment he picked up MRSA, Providencia, Pseudomonas, and new pneumonia (in addition to the aspiration pneumonia in his lungs). We currently are back at Ascension, to treat the above new bacterium (We were advised this morning, we would be here weeks as in 2 ,3 , possibly 4). We are in isolation. I don't leave him. I need help so I can have a $100 copay (we have Marketplace insurance)to check myself for the bacterium, pay for my medications, eat as we are in isolation and I cannot roam freely, help pay for the 20% dme on hospital bed, specialty mattress, and lift, lumber for ramp, and gas to get to his appointments after discharge, $100 copay for each of his specialists (pulmonary, ent, pcp, and pain specialist).
Many of you have helped before (THANK YOU!!!) and we get you may not can help again but please share.....that doesn't cost a cent.
Sincerely,
Daniel and April Gray
