Hi friends and family. Your prayers have been wonderful over the past year, and they have boyed up our spirits when times felt really dark. And I feel really awkward and I don't usually ask for anything materially for myself but I'm desperate!
I find myself in an impossible situation for which I need your support. Two, maybe three close friends have said that they would also like to help materially, and that many of my friends would like to help monetarily. They urged me repeatedly to open up a Go Fund Me account.
You see, Tim (my dear hubby of 52 years), is paraplegic after 3 spinal surgeries in 2025. It's been a rough, often bleak go. After many months of hospitalization and nursing home stays, Tim's now at home. And I'm very glad! He's making slow but steady progress. However he still has a long way to go. It may take up to 2 years for him to fully recover, if he can.
Our insurance pays for his Physical Therapy and medical nursing care but not custodial care; like getting dressed, doing laundry, cooking meals or bathing. I do all of his custodial care and the daily custodial care and keeping the house running between the times I am feeding the dog and letting him out and in and out and in...
Although Tim's making great strides towards his ultimate goal to walk, he still isn't standing, sleeps in a hospital bed, uses a wheelchair all the time and needs help getting into and out of the chair, bed, and shower, help with toileting and into and out of the car.
I am his sole custodial caregiver. I'm happy to do it, but it can be strenuous and taxing on my 76-year-old arthritic body--Especially when putting on his compression stockings every morning and getting him turned in bed. This daily strain on my wrists and hands has resulted in painful carpal tunnel syndrome. my hands and wrists hurt nearly all the time.
I will need carpal tunnel surgery for both hands in the coming months, which insurance will cover.
But my dilemma is that I will need to recover for 6 weeks per hand! I will not be able to take care of Tim for 6 weeks! I'll need custodial care and so will he. And that is just for one hand!
Our medical insurance doesn't pay for custodial care, so we will need to hire out of pocket daily caregivers to the tune of $35 per hour, while I recover.
At only 3 hours per day, that's $735 per week, x 6weeks, equals $4,410 for just one hand. I can't do both hands at the same time, so I will have to do them separately, resulting in 12 weeks total recovery time, and $8,820 total to do both hands.
This is embarrassing for me to ask for such help, and I don't expect you to do it all for me. I have always helped others with no expectation for gain. It's out of my character and is a source of discomfort to ask this of you. I expect Tim and I will have to sell some things, or cash in a life insurance to make up the difference. This fund may be a good start on defraying the cost of my recovery care.
Please give what you can spare. Regardless of what you can give, I will always think fondly of all of you and count you all as blessings in my life and the world. You are on my prayer list too! Love Mickey Cheek
