Bridgers Medical Expenses

My older brother Bridger Fackler is one of the kindest and most giving people I have ever met. He would literally give you the shirt off his back, but at this time he is the one who needs kindness and help.

 

In March of 2020, right around the time Bridger got married, he started to have stomach pain and issues. He was unable to eat much, and many foods made him ill. He started working with his primary care doctor to figure out what was going on. One night, the pain and nausea became too much so his new wife took him to the emergency room in St George. While being assessed a CT scan was performed at which point it was found that his intestines were twisting and impeding the artery that supplies blood to them. Essentially his intestines were strangling themselves and dying. This was due to a genetic disorder that he has called Noonan syndrome. This has caused many health complications throughout his life and Bridger just assumed the doctors would fix the problem and he would go on. Surgery was done to put his intestines back the correct way and to restore the blood supply. This was an invasive surgery that required him to be cut from the bottom of his sternum to the top of his pubic bone (About a 12” incision). He spent several days in the hospital and was discharged home.

He started to recover and thought all was well. However, a few weeks later he started to have pain again and the same symptoms. After weeks of suffering and doctors’ visits it was determined that the same issue was reoccurring, and the surgery would need to be repeated.

With the faith of his family and love of his new wife and daughter, Bridger went back into another extensive surgery where he was cut from his sternum to his belly button. Several days in the hospital again for recovery and he was sent home. He spent several weeks trying to recover but just still felt like something was wrong. He was unable to eat and became ill whenever he tried to. He was seen by his doctor who said it was all related to the surgery and would go away with time. Instead, things got worse. He started meeting with a new surgeon who thought maybe he was having gallbladder attacks. Scans and tests were ordered but before he was able to get them done, he found himself in the ER again. He was diagnosed with pancreatitis and hospitalized. The new surgeon came to see Bridger in the hospital and recommended taking his gallbladder out immediately.

Bridger agreed and went to surgery for a third time in the period of a year. The surgery was successful, and Bridger remained in the hospital for a few days. At discharge he was feeling better and able to eat again. He felt better than he had in a year and had a new positive outlook on life. Recovery was going well until about two months ago when he noticed a large mass developing in his stomach. The mass has continually gotten bigger and bigger. It has also become more and more painful to touch and pressure.

 

This has taken Bridger to the surgeon for a fourth time where he has found out he will need surgery again. At this point his intestines have herniated through his abdominal wall and only his skin and a small fat layer is protecting them. He will again have to go in and be cut from sternum to pelvic bone, for the third time. He will have to have his intestines put back in place and then a mesh put in place and woven into his abdominal muscles to prevent this from happening again. While Bridger is in high spirits and doing all he can to care for his new family, he needs help.

The financial strain these surgeries have placed on him, and his new family are becoming overwhelming. This is due to how Bridger's insurance works as a school district employee. As a school district employee his deductible starts over every August. This caused Bridger to have to meet his max out of pocket for the first surgery at the beginning of 2020. He then had to meet his max out of pocket a second time when he had his second and third surgery at the beginning of 2021. Now that we have passed August again, he will be forced to meet his max out of pocket again for a third time in a little more than a year and a half. This financial strain would be hard on any family but has put immense strain on this newlywed couple who are just trying to start a life together. While Bridger would never ask, I feel that he has done so much for other people throughout his life and deserves some help at this time. If you can donate to his family for his medical expenses, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Darby Fackler