Keith needs some extra help
On Dec 3, 2016, Keith began what is now almost 11 solid months of hospitalization. He was diagnosed with an extreme intestinal infection with diverticulitis. He was admitted to a hospital near where he worked in Northern Cal. But, as it became evident they could not accommodate him there, he was flown via medical plane to Los Angeles where he has been since mid-January. At Keck-USC, the gastroenterologists were able to address his issue but left him with a surgical wound the size of a baseball glove. He is off the wound vac, off the feeding tube and off the trach and assisted breathing. He has come a very long way. He had a six-month stay at Barlow Respiratory Hospital and was then transferred to Chatsworth, CA where he was briefly but then suffered a cardiac event and was taken to Northridge Hospital to address that. Keith is currently at a skilled nursing facility in Pasadena, the Californian, where he feels he is progressing. He is still not able to stand up or walk but is retraining his muscles during physical therapy. His problem is that his COBRA insurance will not cover the entirety of the costs where he currently is and it is pretty costly. The facility does not contract with MediCal either. His social worker has worked for over a week to locate a facility that contracts with Asuris and MediCal but thus far no other facility wants to take him because of the complexity his issues present. His immediate need for the next four weeks is 8K$ but peripheral hospital bills are starting to accumulate. It is likely he'll be here for a while until he qualifies to go to an acute inpatient rehab in a hospital. The facility is willing to work with us but as you can imagine, Keith hasn't worked for 11 months and has little in his account so this immediate bill is enormous to him. This is why we are asking for your help. His spirits go up and down, he was very disillusioned that they have not yet found a fit between his insurance and a skilled nursing facility but gets that this isn't a perfect world. He currently get about an hour and a half of physical therapy each day and carries the hope that he'll qualify for inpatient rehab to get 3-4 hours a day of PT and OT but he just isn't there yet. He wants to just get up and walk. To the credit of the Californian, this is the first time in ten months that he's been able to sit up and wear real clothes. If you are able in any way to help him cover this amount, he'd be extremely appreciative for whatever amount you can spare. It would do much to invigorate his sense of hope and belief that this trial can be put behind him. He wants to do two things mainly which are to go back to work and to go fishing.
You can access the Go Fund Me Page on my Facebook Sue Opdyke
