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Matt’s Medical Expenses

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Matt and Britt saved up for years with a dream to take a sabbatical and go sailing on their boat, Malolo.  We met them in Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador and spent 4 months with them.  They became family to us. There were no kid boats there and we joked that Matt is pretty much a kid.  He would make up games, purchase pool toys, and throw my kids around the pool everyday for months.  Sometimes Britt and Matt would take our kids and plan a fun couple hours so that my husband and I had a break.  There’s no words to describe how amazing they are.  
They planned to leave Bahia Del Sol and head south with us.  We checked our boats out of the country, and went to spend one last day in the pool with the sailing community (with 2 new kid boats!), before checking out with immigration and leaving the next morning.  


While playing in the pool with the kids, Matt face planted into the crown of one of the kids’ heads.  Thankfully she was fine with only a minor headache that night.  Matt didn’t fair so well.  His left cheekbone was crushed, the bones surrounding his eye were fractured along with the floor of his eye socket, though they didn’t know the extent of the injury at the time.  


When they arrived in the ER in San Salvador, a Maxillofacial surgeon looked at the x-rays and immediately scheduled surgery for the next morning.  He said it had looked more like a bad car accident than a collision with a person.


Overall, the surgery went well, though the damage was more extensive than seen in the x-rays.  With his cheekbone crushed there were fragments of bone in his sinus cavity and had to be removed as it was creating a great deal of infection.  Matt now has 3 titanium mini plates in his cheekbone along with 15 mini screws and a thin titanium sheet creating a new floor of the orbit of his left eye.  There are stitches in his eyebrow, above and below his eyelid and inside his mouth.  


He is in good spirits but does have some gnarly swelling and a blood red eye that will last a while.  The bones should heal in about 6 weeks and he’ll be eating soft foods until then.  His left nostril and lip are numb from the nerve being trapped under the crushed bone but the feeling should return eventually.  His vision is a little blurry right now and sees double when looking up or down.  The doctor said this is normal and should return in a few weeks once the swelling goes down and his brain is retrained.  Ultimately time will tell. 


Their medical bills have already exceeded $10,000, which pretty much cleans out their savings and sailing kitty, and will ultimately put their dream of sailing further on hold for a bit.  I’m creating this Go Fund Me because I know that the sailing community, and so many others, would love to chip in to help.  They just started a non-profit called “Compass for Kindness” with a goal to sail to communities in need.  I want to see this dream come true for them.  By helping Britt and Matt through this tough time, they will pay it forward in so many amazing ways in this world.  


Get well soon Matt!
Kim, Justin, Tyler, and Evie
SV Litha


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Donations 

  • Bruce Toal
    • $50
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Kimberly Bizjak
Organizer
Auburn, WA
Matt and Britt Stoltzfus
Beneficiary

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