Caden Tipton’s Rehab and Medical Expenses

While visiting friends in Pensacola, Florida, Caden suffered life threatening injuries resulting from an act of gun violence against him. Caden was shot multiple times on Sunday June 11th while he and his friend were being normal 21 year old guys, hanging out at a food truck after spending Saturday night downtown. As far as his injuries go, he was shot on the right side of his body which caused major damage to his lung and intestines (both small and large). He also sustained a severe spinal cord injury (vertebrae t6). Thus far, he has remained in a medically induced coma and has been on a ventilator since he arrived at the hospital initially.

So far, Caden has undergone three surgeries. The first surgery repaired his lung. The second surgery intended to discover and repair the source of internal hemorrhaging he was experiencing. His third surgery allowed his Doctor to check the results of the second surgery, and was focused on making sure his bowels were repaired and that the bleeding would no longer be an issue. He also had a bullet removed that was near his spine during the third surgery. He will have another bullet in his pelvis for the rest of his life as it is not causing any issues as of right now and is too deep to remove.

Today we are looking at getting him extubated as the doctors on his team feel like he can breathe on his own now that his major surgeries have been completed. He will be slowly coming out of his super sedated state for the remainder of the day. We are hoping for a successful extubation today and will keep you all updated as much as possible.

Caden’s path to recovery and his adjustment to a new way of life is going to be very long and extremely expensive. Insurance will not cover everything he needs which is going to include long term acute care (a type of inpatient rehab that specializes in spinal cord injuries). He will have to complete his acute rehab here in Florida as he will not be able to be transported to Kansas until he is physically strong enough and equipped with new life skills. This is going to require our family to basically live in Florida for another four weeks at minimum. There will be an extended period of time Caden will not be able to work while he is rehabilitated.

Anything donated to Caden’s go fund me campaign will be applied to his medical expenses, rehab costs, travel, equipment to modify his home and any other necessary expenses required for his recovery.

We do have a bit of good for you regarding the shooting—the shooter and the “getaway” driver in this attack against Caden were CAUGHT and ARRESTED today! We are so incredibly thankful for the tireless work and dedication to Caden’s cases, both from his medical team here at Baptist Health Care and also from the Pensacola Police Department.

Thank you so much again for all of the love and support ❤️