Bob Pfingsten Recovery Fund

We are creating this campaign for our dad, (and brother!) Robert (Bob) Pfingsten who is currently battling Japanese Encephalitis, a very rare and severe mosquito borne illness of viral origin that attacks the brain. At the moment he is still in the hospital and in need of our help. 
 
For those of you who know our dad, you would know that he has always lived an adventurous life as an architect and project manager on various continents and in remote corners of the world. Three years ago he decided to move to the island of Palawan in the Philippines to build a craft beer brewery of his own. For the last several years he put all of his blood, sweat and tears into this dream project and it was only just earlier this year that the brewery officially opened for business.  Shortly thereafter his health took a turn for the worse; some bad luck and a couple of really nasty mosquito bites later, the doctors are saying his road to recovery will be unpredictable and can take as long as two years before he returns to any semblance of normalcy.
 
Two months ago he fell very ill with dengue fever, a relatively common mosquito borne virus in South East Asia. It took him a few weeks but he powered through it and returned to work his brewery before he should have. Then, three weeks ago, he wasn’t feeling his best but was on his way to a work event when he suffered a seizure. Because medical care is so limited on the island and his symptoms were growing increasingly concerning, we airlifted him to Manila. By the time he arrived at St. Luke’s, his brain was unable to form words to answer basic questions such as what his name was or how many kids he had. He was also  experiencing seizures, had a fever of 106 and initial findings indicated brain swelling and infection.  Katie flew over from Bali and our aunts flew in from the US to be by him and his girlfriend’s side. Over the course of the next eight agonizing days that he spent in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit, we were uncertain as to whether he would survive and if so, what the extent of brain damage he would sustain.
 
It took a team of neurologists, infectious disease specialists, nephrologists and cardiologists but they were finally able to diagnose him with Japanese Encephalitis (JEV). The doctors were shocked because the oldest reported case of JEV in the Philippines prior to my dad was a 21 year old patient. The doctors believe he was susceptible to it because his immune system was compromised from the dengue at the time of infection.
 
Little is known about how JEV affects older patients but some reports site the mortality rate in older patients as being as high as 50% with brain damage being seen in the majority of those who survive. Against the odds, his cognitive function seems to be coming back to what it was before infection, however, the damage done seems to be manifesting physically. We are all coming to the realization that it will be a very long time before he is able to return to what his life was before and the doctors seem to estimate it can be as long as two years. In the meantime, he cannot risk reinfection while his immune system is recovering so returning to his home in Palawan is out of the question. The fatigue associated with his disease is so crushing that it is difficult for him to raise his head, let alone walk or perform any sort of daily task. Physical and cognitive therapy as well as supportive medical treatment are all a part of his extended recovery plan.
 
Because he is the only person capable of running the brewery, he is currently without an income and will be until he is through recovery. In addition, extraordinary medical bills and lack of health insurance (requiring payment in full as medical care is received) has depleted his retirement savings, making finances a secondary crisis. Our hope is for him to be able to return to the US to seek rehabilitative care so that he can recover in a safe and supportive environment surrounded by family. 
 
Because so many people have reached out to ask how they can help and shared stories how dad generously helped you and your families, we decided a GoFundMe campaign to help alleviate his financial struggles would be the easiest and most effective way. Any and all help would be appreciated though; whether its through airline mileage that can get him a business class ticket home (he can’t yet sit in an upright position for any sort of extended period due to his condition), or even if you know of an adventurous spirit who knows a thing or two about craft beer who might want to move to the Philippines to man the brewery while my dad gets better… Our goal is for him to be able to focus all of his energy on recovering to the best of his abilities and anything to make that happen would be a tremendous help.

Thank you, and we love you. 

Katie, Bobby, Alex, and Pam

*Bob is with his sister, Pam Spong, in Illinois now. She will be taking care of the the generously donated funds as she is overseeing a his medical care and recovery at this point.