Humanitarian Quadriplegic Ed Shea
Donation protected
For over twenty years, my brother-in-law, Ed Shea, has worked providing humanitarian relief through several international organizations including CARE, The American Red Cross and Catholic Charities, to name a few. He has been among the first on the scene in providing Disaster Aid and relief following typhoons, floods and earthquakes. If you read about it in the paper, he was probably there. He has spent his life helping others by aiding in development projects around the world. His personal and free time has been spent traveling (he’s been to over 100 countries), experiencing different cultures, long distance cycling, running, hiking, weight training, and being outdoors. He has always been self-sufficient.
But that all changed a year ago on March 22, 2015. Ed was back in the U.S. and was in between work contracts. He was on a solo bicycle trip riding down the California coast from San Francisco to our house just south of Los Angeles on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I knew something terrible had happened to him when the sheriff pulled into our driveway. We were given the number for the emergency room in Santa Maria and when we spoke to the doctor, he told us Ed had been in an accident and we should come quickly, they had stabilized him but they weren’t sure Ed would make it through the night. We dropped everything and loaded our two little boys and dog in the car and began driving north. Normally, my husband has a lead foot, but he was going the speed limit this time and I couldn’t figure out why. Then it struck me: he didn’t want to see his brother die. Or worse, to have to be the one to say “take him off life support.”
But Ed turned out to be a bit of a miracle. His heart stopped twice in the ambulance, but he survived. He broke his C1/C2 vertebrae when he went over the handlebars (his front saddlebag malfunctioned and dropped into his front tire causing his bike to do a hard stop). Most people don’t survive these injuries, but Ed did. His ICU doctor told us he would never regain consciousness and if he did, he would be brain dead. But Ed woke up, and he was making sense! We made an alphabet chart for him to communicate with us by blinking out letters because he had a tube in his mouth connected to a ventilator. He even survived a surgery that fused his neck back together.
But this past year and a half has been really, really tough. He’s the kind of man who is just not happy unless he’s doing something. And aside from the basic "not being able to do anything for himself" and loss of independence, he suffers other symptoms of a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) like daily headaches, the inability to regulate his temperature so he's always cold and other maladies. For someone like Ed, a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is particularly tragic. But that’s the irony of SCI’s, they don’t happen to couch potatoes. But even as a quadriplegic who is dependent on a ventilator for breathing, Ed is still trying to give back, to give of himself like he always does.
The way he plans to do this is by participating in a clinical trial. He doesn’t qualify for many of these because his injury is so high and he's on a vent to keep him breathing, but there is one that is coming up that could change the lives of so many SCI patients and we want to keep him healthy—mentally and physically--so he can participate in it. We raised enough money to get him an FES bike (a bike with electrodes that stick to his legs and arms and shock the muscles into pumping). This bike gives him a sense that his old life is not totally gone. It helps him maintain his muscle tone, skin care, circulation, periphery nerve pain, as well as gives him both a challenge and a sense of accomplishment. Ed spent last summer at Craig Hospital, which has an amazing gym with all types of equipment for patients recovering from SCI's and now he can use it at our house.
Now we are trying to cover some of his day to day expenses. He needs a nurse with him 24-hours a day, which is about $400/day. He has a daily supply list and medication list a mile long. He had to go to the ER a few weeks ago because he couldn't get enough air and his vent readings were all over the map, a very expensive trip.
But it will all be worth it if we can get him into a Clinical Trials, which are not for the weak of heart. They can be dangerous. But again, he’s willing to take the risk so that the science is advanced. So that soon there will be a cure for Spinal Cord Injuries and no one will have to go through what he has had to endure. We appreciate any and all of your help!
Some of Ed’s Expenses
FES bike - $18,000
Wheelchair accessible car - $30,000+
24 hour Certified Nursing Assistant - $250/day
RX, supplies, insurance, etc. - $50/day
Link to spinal cord research here
But that all changed a year ago on March 22, 2015. Ed was back in the U.S. and was in between work contracts. He was on a solo bicycle trip riding down the California coast from San Francisco to our house just south of Los Angeles on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I knew something terrible had happened to him when the sheriff pulled into our driveway. We were given the number for the emergency room in Santa Maria and when we spoke to the doctor, he told us Ed had been in an accident and we should come quickly, they had stabilized him but they weren’t sure Ed would make it through the night. We dropped everything and loaded our two little boys and dog in the car and began driving north. Normally, my husband has a lead foot, but he was going the speed limit this time and I couldn’t figure out why. Then it struck me: he didn’t want to see his brother die. Or worse, to have to be the one to say “take him off life support.”
But Ed turned out to be a bit of a miracle. His heart stopped twice in the ambulance, but he survived. He broke his C1/C2 vertebrae when he went over the handlebars (his front saddlebag malfunctioned and dropped into his front tire causing his bike to do a hard stop). Most people don’t survive these injuries, but Ed did. His ICU doctor told us he would never regain consciousness and if he did, he would be brain dead. But Ed woke up, and he was making sense! We made an alphabet chart for him to communicate with us by blinking out letters because he had a tube in his mouth connected to a ventilator. He even survived a surgery that fused his neck back together.
But this past year and a half has been really, really tough. He’s the kind of man who is just not happy unless he’s doing something. And aside from the basic "not being able to do anything for himself" and loss of independence, he suffers other symptoms of a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) like daily headaches, the inability to regulate his temperature so he's always cold and other maladies. For someone like Ed, a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is particularly tragic. But that’s the irony of SCI’s, they don’t happen to couch potatoes. But even as a quadriplegic who is dependent on a ventilator for breathing, Ed is still trying to give back, to give of himself like he always does.
The way he plans to do this is by participating in a clinical trial. He doesn’t qualify for many of these because his injury is so high and he's on a vent to keep him breathing, but there is one that is coming up that could change the lives of so many SCI patients and we want to keep him healthy—mentally and physically--so he can participate in it. We raised enough money to get him an FES bike (a bike with electrodes that stick to his legs and arms and shock the muscles into pumping). This bike gives him a sense that his old life is not totally gone. It helps him maintain his muscle tone, skin care, circulation, periphery nerve pain, as well as gives him both a challenge and a sense of accomplishment. Ed spent last summer at Craig Hospital, which has an amazing gym with all types of equipment for patients recovering from SCI's and now he can use it at our house.
Now we are trying to cover some of his day to day expenses. He needs a nurse with him 24-hours a day, which is about $400/day. He has a daily supply list and medication list a mile long. He had to go to the ER a few weeks ago because he couldn't get enough air and his vent readings were all over the map, a very expensive trip.
But it will all be worth it if we can get him into a Clinical Trials, which are not for the weak of heart. They can be dangerous. But again, he’s willing to take the risk so that the science is advanced. So that soon there will be a cure for Spinal Cord Injuries and no one will have to go through what he has had to endure. We appreciate any and all of your help!
Some of Ed’s Expenses
FES bike - $18,000
Wheelchair accessible car - $30,000+
24 hour Certified Nursing Assistant - $250/day
RX, supplies, insurance, etc. - $50/day
Link to spinal cord research here
Organizer and beneficiary
Lara Shea
Organizer
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Edward Shea
Beneficiary