Gelderman Bunch

Hello and welcome to our GoFundMe page. This story is about Ben Gelderman, a husband and father to 3 young boys

When Ben was a young boy, he loved to play hockey which resulted in some back injuries. He went on to become a landscaper for 18 years until 2018 when he was off work with injuries more than he was working

Since January 2022, Ben's back pain (and now neck pain) has gotten significantly worse. He needs help taking a bath, getting dressed, tying his shoes, picking things up off the floor, all the day to day basic things

MRIs and x-rays are showing that he has multilevel degenerative spondyloarthropathy, loss of cervical lordosis, and osteochondrosis with disc bulging

We have started this page in hopes of raising money so Ben can go to Germany for 3 weeks to get surgery. The doctors plan to remove the disc material, revise the spinal canal, and then implant 4 artificial discs (1 in the lower back and 3 in the neck). When he gets back home, there will be months of physiotherapy, manual therapies, and exercises. Your generous donations will help cover the cost of transportation, surgery, therapy, meals, and hotels

Once Ben has finished the healing process, he is really looking forward to being able to walk to the park to play baseball and hockey with his kids again

Thanks for reading and more importantly, thanks for lifting us up in this time of need