ANTHONY'S MEDICAL/LIVING EXPENSES
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Anthony de la Cruz is a father of 3, a devoted husband of 14 years (my best friend for 18). He has also been my primary caregiver, my own personal nurse.... I have battled breast cancer for the past 4 years and suffer from lymphedema which is a lifelong battle. More importantly he is the sole provider of our family of 5. Due to my personal medical conditions I have not been able to work and am currently on disability, my monthly check is minimal (very minimal). On January 30th Anthony started complaining about having a headache, he suffers from migraines so he did not think anything of it. 10 days later the headache was still there and it landed him in the ER, a CT was done and it came back clear, however since this headache was different from his normal migraines the doctor wanted him to follow up with his neurologist.
The neurologist of course ordered tests of his own and the MRI showed issues with his neck and a mass in his head, which they had informed us of being a tumor. He immediately began treatments of steroids and occipital nerve injections along with high doses of painkillers and antibiotics. Nothing worked. A more detailed MRI was done on February 24th and they called us in for a consultation on Saturday the 27th (WHO HAS CONSULTATIONS ON A SATURDAY!?) .... they were now referring him to the brain and spine institute. Monday, February 29th Anthony was seen at the brain and spine institute we were informed that he was going to need surgery but that they wanted him to do one more test before they scheduled the surgery just to be 100% sure of what exactly was going on. A myelogram was scheduled for Thursday March 3rd. Anthony's results were read to us on Friday March 4th at 8 am. He has suffered a severe neck injury. He has 3 fractures in his vertebrae and 4 herniated discs all in his neck, his body tried to "heal" itself and formed bone spurs one of these bone spurs is imbedded in his spinal cord, the mass in his brain along with the swelling they believe is just built up spinal fluid that has not been able to drain. What does all this mean? It means Anthony basically has a broken neck and is very close to being paralyzed, there is about 4 inches in his spine that is not getting any spinal fluid. He has surgery scheduled for March 15th but they are trying to get him scheduled for this week because any hit to his head/neck at this point will be devastating! During his surgery he will have all vertebrae and discs replaced with implants, they will also take bone and bone marrow from his hip to form "new" bone for his neck. He will also have 2 metal rods on each side of his spine held together with screws and plates.... the worse part of all this there is 50/50 chance that he may become paralyzed during this procedure, since there is bone that is imbedded in his cord. We will not know for sure until he is out of surgery. As for the mass...if it does not drain by itself after this surgery they will go in and make 2 burrow holes in his skull to help drain the fluid. Up to this point Anthony has not been able to work since February 4th and from what the doctors are telling us he will not be able to return back to work until maybe June. He faces a long and painful road of recovery. As of now Anthony has lost all reflexes in his left side. He is showing a significant decrease in his muscle function along with tingling and numbness in both arms. His short term memory has also been affected due to the swelling in his head. Anthony has had more than 18 appointments which we have had to pay 20% of after we met our deductible...20% is a lot.... Each appointment we were easily paying over $600 this is more so for his tests, scans, spinal taps. We have used all our savings for his copays and 20% of costs along with our daily and monthly expenses to just live. We were informed that we need at least $10,000 up front for his surgery. We need help. With everything that has been thrown to Anthony and I we still find something to smile about EVERYDAY. Anthony is my rock, our rock the glue that holds us all together.... OUR SUPERMAN the strongest man alive.
The neurologist of course ordered tests of his own and the MRI showed issues with his neck and a mass in his head, which they had informed us of being a tumor. He immediately began treatments of steroids and occipital nerve injections along with high doses of painkillers and antibiotics. Nothing worked. A more detailed MRI was done on February 24th and they called us in for a consultation on Saturday the 27th (WHO HAS CONSULTATIONS ON A SATURDAY!?) .... they were now referring him to the brain and spine institute. Monday, February 29th Anthony was seen at the brain and spine institute we were informed that he was going to need surgery but that they wanted him to do one more test before they scheduled the surgery just to be 100% sure of what exactly was going on. A myelogram was scheduled for Thursday March 3rd. Anthony's results were read to us on Friday March 4th at 8 am. He has suffered a severe neck injury. He has 3 fractures in his vertebrae and 4 herniated discs all in his neck, his body tried to "heal" itself and formed bone spurs one of these bone spurs is imbedded in his spinal cord, the mass in his brain along with the swelling they believe is just built up spinal fluid that has not been able to drain. What does all this mean? It means Anthony basically has a broken neck and is very close to being paralyzed, there is about 4 inches in his spine that is not getting any spinal fluid. He has surgery scheduled for March 15th but they are trying to get him scheduled for this week because any hit to his head/neck at this point will be devastating! During his surgery he will have all vertebrae and discs replaced with implants, they will also take bone and bone marrow from his hip to form "new" bone for his neck. He will also have 2 metal rods on each side of his spine held together with screws and plates.... the worse part of all this there is 50/50 chance that he may become paralyzed during this procedure, since there is bone that is imbedded in his cord. We will not know for sure until he is out of surgery. As for the mass...if it does not drain by itself after this surgery they will go in and make 2 burrow holes in his skull to help drain the fluid. Up to this point Anthony has not been able to work since February 4th and from what the doctors are telling us he will not be able to return back to work until maybe June. He faces a long and painful road of recovery. As of now Anthony has lost all reflexes in his left side. He is showing a significant decrease in his muscle function along with tingling and numbness in both arms. His short term memory has also been affected due to the swelling in his head. Anthony has had more than 18 appointments which we have had to pay 20% of after we met our deductible...20% is a lot.... Each appointment we were easily paying over $600 this is more so for his tests, scans, spinal taps. We have used all our savings for his copays and 20% of costs along with our daily and monthly expenses to just live. We were informed that we need at least $10,000 up front for his surgery. We need help. With everything that has been thrown to Anthony and I we still find something to smile about EVERYDAY. Anthony is my rock, our rock the glue that holds us all together.... OUR SUPERMAN the strongest man alive.
Organizer
Anthony de la Cruz
Organizer
Austin, TX