Eric Stanley’s Medical Expenses

At the beginning of April, Eric had an experience that caused him to sit up and twist very violently causing what he believed to be whiplash. After several days of dealing with a stiff neck, he decided to see a chiropractor to try and get some relief from the pain.

After many treatments, on April 20th the chiropractor sent him for X-rays which showed basically nothing wrong other than maybe the beginning of arthritis. However, the vertebrae were aligned correctly and nothing was alarming. The chiropractor then sent him to the urgent care to get a steroid pack to try and reduce swelling. By the time Eric finished the steroids, the first two fingers of both hands were tingly and he started having extreme pain down his right arm whenever he sat or stood up.

On Monday May 1st his mother was taking him to a doctor's appointment in

Tunkhannock when the pain became so intense that they were forced to call an ambulance. At the emergency room they did an x-ray of his shoulder and saw nothing. Just that morning Eric found out he was approved for an MRI so the emergency room sent him home with pain meds and told him to go for the MRI in hopes of gaining a better understanding of what was going on.

By the time he got home from the MRI Wednesday night, the doctor had already called to say there was stenosis, deterioration of two vertebrae (C6 and C7), and what appeared to be an abscess on his spine. An ambulance was called to take him right to the emergency room. At the emergency room all of this was confirmed and Eric was told if he had waited a few more days he could have been paralyzed.

He was admitted and spent the weekend in the hospital on antibiotics and pain meds preparing for surgery on Tuesday May 9.

Surgery was very intense and took about 6 hours and required two neurosurgeons. They had to go in through the front of the neck to remove the abscess and deteriorated vertebrae and reconstruct them using cadaver bones; then go in through the back to install the hardware.

The neurosurgeon was very pleased with the results of the surgery but told Eric he has quite a recovery ahead of him, starting with a week or two in a rehab facility to

help him get his strength back, and an at home IV antibiotic until July 4.

There has been an outpouring of support from Eric’s family and friends throughout all of this, but we need to continue that momentum now more than ever! At this time we are hoping to raise some money to help offset his medical and living expenses until he can return to work; which the doctor hopes will be within 6 months.

We are very grateful for the amazing care Dr. Jacobs and the CMC team provided. But Eric’s healing has only just begun and this Go Fund Me will help him through the next chapter in his journey. We wish the big fella a speedy recovery and hope that the overall physical impact is not too limiting so he can enjoy so many of the things he loves once again.