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William's Recovery Fund

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My husband and I met William 6 years ago while on a shore excursion off a cruise ship at the port of  Roatan, Honduras. He was our tour guide and just shy of 18 at the time. We were drawn to his warm and friendly personality and I somehow felt that the Lord had put him in my life. We have cultivated a freindship over these years and my daughter and I returned to Roatan on the same cruise itinerary 2 years ago to see him again and spend the day with his family.  It was February 9th of this year that I received a frantic phone call from his mother telling me that William had been involved in a terrible head on motorcycle accident and was badly injured. Being grateful he was still alive, I had no idea at the time how badly injured he was.  Aside from other injuries, he had very limited mobility of his right arm and had excruciating pain in the first three fingers of his right hand.  With this information I assumed he had impingement of a cranial nerve in his neck and needed chiropractic care to relieve his pain and immobility issues.  As time wore on, I came to realize that there were no viable treatment options for William either on the island (Roatan) or on the mainland.  His search for treatment, including government clinics, was fruitless.  It became evident that he had to come here for treatment or be disabled for the rest of his life. He is now 24.  Not having a visa would be a huge obstacle as it is very difficult to be granted a US visa from Honduras. As he embarked on that lengthy process, I contacted Dr. Michael Craven of Craven Chiropractic, my chiropractor whom I deeply respect.  I explained William’s situation and he generously offered to treat William at no charge if I was able to get him here.  Doors were opened, the visa was granted, and William arrived here on August 18th. Unfortunately, William’s injuries are much worse than we had imagined.  Aside from the impinged nerve in his neck,  his shoulder is badly dislocated and an MRI (arranged and cost covered by Dr. Craven), reveals  a torn labrum in his right  shoulder (a SLAP lesion).   Surgical intervention is his only option for recovery.  We are embarking on a search for a surgeon  who will be able to contribute to this endeavor  but  the financial needs  for his surgery and rehab to follow are quite extensive.  We cannot in good conscience send this young man back to the island to live out his life essentially disabled with pain and immobility.  We would be so grateful, if those who feel  led to help, could do so in any way.  Thank you very much.

Organizer

Sally Raber Hillman
Organizer
Tampa, FL

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