Help Eric make it through...

Thank you for stopping and even considering to assist our brother, Eric Drake, financially. ANY amount is appreciated for every dollar helps! He specifically needs $1600 to make it through the next two months.

Eric is still unable to drive or work. Although he is home, he has ongoing doctors appointments and is under the care of several physicians. He still has a blood clot in his brain that is behind his right eye. They are having difficulty managing his bleeding and needing to have him take aspirin for the blocked arteries and blood clots. Eric has tried to avoid ever going on disability, but it appears he will need to apply for this assistance. He was advised he will be without any fiancial assistance for a couple of months as he goes through the process. This is causing him a large amount of anxiety which is one thing he was told to avoid.

Back story---

For those of you who have known the Drake family & those that don’t—

Back Story of Eric—

Eric was born and found to have a genetic disease called Hemophilia. Hemophilia is a blood disorder where he is missing Factor #9 which is a clotting disorder. This has led Eric to have many physical challenges due to bleeds (i.e., bruising) where he will need an iv of his factor.

As a kid, he stayed on crutches it seems. BUT—you would see him BMX ride his bike and skateboard with the best of his friends. Mom and dad decided they would not keep him from enjoying his life. They let him be a “normal” kid as much as possible. Mom simply prayed and pled the blood of Jesus over him, daily! This led him to have a high tolerance for pain. If you see him limping as he walks, this is due to living the last 20+ years with zero cartilage in his ankles. This is due to having more bleeds than he can count just in his ankles!

Although Eric has lived with chronic pain, he rarely/if ever complains about it. Although he has had many challenges and if you know Eric—you will know it has not stopped him from helping others. Not with just computer work (which he is great at) but physically, difficult, and challenging work for him. He just will rarely say, “I cannot help.” He will push through the pain. We have seen him hurting so bad physically, working all day, but he would go right back out the door after giving himself an iv factor just to help someone in need late at night.

But since earlier this week, Eric has been in pain that he cannot deny. He was life flighted to the University of Tennessee Hospital from a smaller hospital due to a brain bleed. He had been suffering a headache for two days that became unbearable. He went through emergency surgery to drain the blood, from the bleed, off his brain. He then went through an angiogram procedure a day later to find the source of the bleed. They found a pseudo aneurism in the aorta. The neurosurgeon could not get to the aneurism due to his veins and artery tearing with each movement forward to the source. This goes back to his body not being able to maintain cartilage formation. The surgeon put in three stints. They are pumping him with large doses of factor every 12 hours which has his body is clotting like a normal person. This finally allowed them to use “normal” procedures (e.g., use of aspirin) to aid in managing the aneurism. However, that use was short-lived due to his blood thinning and him having excessive bleeding. They cannot give him enough medication to manage the head pain and nausea due to the need for him to remain conscious enough to do hourly neuro-checks to ensure he has not experienced another stroke. They “think” he experienced the initial bleed due to throwing up last week when he had a stomach bug. Now, every time he coughs or gets sick from the head pain…Yes—we hold our breath.

Everything is just "iffy" and unpredictable! The surgeon seemed rattled that he could not do more for Eric because of the limitations his hemophilia puts on things. However, UT is amazing as Eric’s first hematologist (i.e., Dr. Hannah) is still around in his 80s to do rounds with his nurse--looking frail and fragile himself--to see him! He was a brand-new doctor when Eric was diagnosed at 3 days old.

Eric is in intensive/critical care, and they watch him closely. He is due to have surgery again tomorrow (2/12/2024 Monday). The neurosurgeon is going back to attempt to reach and destroy/remove the aneurism.

Update--

The aneurism cannot be removed as it is too risky. Eric was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks and has been back and forth to the hospital and emergency rooms due to excessive bleeding.

Eric has never been on disability and has worked hard all his life. Most hemophiliacs his age are either deceased or wheelchair bound. We have a lot of respect for our brother toughing it out for so long! He lives payday to payday like many of us! However, if you cannot help financially---we understand! Please just say a prayer for him. THOSE are priceless to him and our family!

We are a family of believers and Eric is a child of God. Thank you in advance and may God bless you all.