Help a Louisville teacher who was assaulted by students.

I am an artist and was a visual arts teacher in Louisville, Ky. for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). Most of my students came from extreme poverty and have suffered some type of trauma.

On September 29, 2023, I was assaulted by two students inside my school. My right shoulder was pulled out of socket and my arm was about 3 inches behind where it should have been. After having an MRI, it was determined that I had a torn rotator cuff. The supraspinatus and the infraspinatus had both been completely torn and detached.

Upon having what should have been an hour-long surgery, the ortho doctor told me that there was nothing left of my muscles to reattach. He couldn't do anything once he got inside my shoulder and saw the chaos. An hour-long surgery took 5 minutes.

I need a reverse shoulder replacement operation.

I have gone through 8 months of physical therapy. I cannot raise my right arm more than 60 degrees outward. I have no lateral strength at all in my right arm. I cannot extend my right arm to reach for anything. I cannot drive long distances due to the pain of trying to hold the steering wheel with my right arm. From a seated position, my right arm is pretty useless. I cannot reach out and adjust a monitor or reach anything I normally would be able to. This is bad enough as a teacher but as an artist, it is shattering. Of course, my right arm is my dominant arm.

Workers' comp paid 66.6% of my salary each week, but those payments have stopped.

I am in that situation where I am no longer receiving any pay yet it will be months before my case is settled. My attorney has told me it could be up to another year. The reasoning is that KY workers' comp law does not state a time limit for these issues.

Currently, the only income I have is a small disability check from the Veterans Administration for health problems attributed to my time in the Middle East during deployment in Desert Shield / Desert Storm. I was a combat MP tasked with enemy prisoners of war.

I am humbly asking for enough to get my family through the next month. I have a wife, a 14-year-old daughter, and a 19-year-old son in my household.

My new physical restrictions and my body's new inabilities are preventing me from returning to work. My teaching days appear to be over.

My mental health is not so great right now and my inability to create art like I could before the assault brings me down further every day.