Support Paul Shingler on his Road to Recovery

Hi, I’m a friend.. and as soon as I heard about the tragic turn Paul was taking I knew Dave and Kim would need our help. I believe they deserve to have the freedom to peacefully take trips and be at medical visits without the financial scare of taking time off work and the everyday bills, etc.. on top of travelling long distances. It would mean the absolute world for Dave and Kim if they could take extra time off work to be present for the upcoming immense rehabilitation Paul will be facing. Here is their story,

In the middle of June we had some very heartbreaking news about my younger brother. Paul had suffered a heart attack and was in a coma in the hospital.

What most people don't know is the background of a young man who has faced a life of addiction and been fighting this battle since he was a teenager. Paul has had a rollercoaster of a life and when he was doing well, he was doing REALLY well, and the opposite for when he wasn't doing so good.

Although Paul and I have had our battles as most brothers do, we're close.

I've helped Paul through countless struggles in his life and although I try not to think of myself as an enabler, I tried helping him whenever I could. Ive always known his full potential and what he was capable of becoming.

It's extremely difficult watching your loved ones make poor decisions and harder to watch them fall.

I speak from a place of being a former addict and alcoholic myself, so I know how hard it is to get and remain clean and sober. I was addicted to different substances, was a smoker, and an alcoholic. I've been clean for 5 years now and been sober for 2 -1/2 years.

My family has faced its fair share of heartache and loss over the years with losing my father to a heart attack, my mother due to addiction, and my younger sister last year to the same.

Paul was doing well over the last year. He had entered a treatment center and was nearing 200 days clean and sober. He was so excited whenever I talked to him. He was leading groups at the rehab and was looking at becoming an addictions counselor so he could use his personal battle to help others. Paul was excited about his future and his next stage in treatment, and my wife and I were so happy to hear from him with the good news calls.

The last call I had from Paul was to wish me a happy birthday and update us on his progress.

Not long after that I received a call from the treatment center asking if I'd seen or been in contact with him, and that he'd left the facility unannounced.

Weeks later came a message that he was in the hospital and that we should get there as soon as possible as his condition was very uncertain.

Paul had relapsed and overdosed. He was in a coma and ultimately in a fight for his life.

My wife and I with the kids had just finished attending the family reunion when we got the news late that night . Talk about going from a high to a low really quickly. Family is literally everything.

We packed our bags before a very restless and nearly sleepless night and headed toward the coast. 15 hrs later we walked into the ICU where his nurse Karen briefed us on his condition and tried to prepare us for the worst. Paul was on a ventilator, an IV, and was covered in sensors to monitor his vitals and he was in a coma. We didn't know if he was going to live or die.

There was one thing I was certain about and that was, if there was anyone who was going to fight through this, it was him.

My wife and I got a hotel close to the hospital and visited Paul daily for over a week. After he was brought out of his coma, we watched him progress ever so slightly as he struggled to understand where he was and was very disoriented. He was then transferred to another ward where his condition fluctuated for a couple of days before he started to settle.

He'd received an CT scan, EEG, and an MRI to determine the level of brain damage he had endured. We talked to the doctors and they explained that the severity of brain damage is global meaning there isn't one concentrated area affected. This anoxic brain injury would essentially effect all areas of cognition, life would never be the same.

Now we look toward the future for Paul, he will need around the clock care, with the help of professional supports my wife and I plan on giving him the best quality of life possible.

Before we can make those plans a reality, there will be many expenses to get him to where he needs to be. We will need to travel to and from the coast several times in the near future to meet with the hospital staff, doctors and nurses, neurologists, and social workers to help in, and support him during his rehabilitation, and creating a future care plan for him. Paul has a very long journey ahead and requires support from all angles.

This will be an expensive process with a costly hospital transfer to a care facility closer to us in the future. He will require a wheel chair, a van with a lift, a bed, and countless more items to help him live the best quality of life possible to him.

During our time at Paul's bedside we were overwhelmed with messages and calls from many friends and family who offered their love, support, prayers, places to stay, and help with things back home. We are forever grateful for all of it.

Some good friends of ours offered to create this account to help us alleviate the financial stresses, so our focus can be on our family at this time. I'm not one to ask for help at the best of times and it took a lot to open up and share such a personal story. It was made very clear the love and support Paul has, he is an incredible friend and so loved by everyone who came in contact with him.

We know that there is a much bigger purpose for Paul's story and I know that we will be able to help so many people with our families trauma. Please know that no matter your past, no matter your mistakes, you are worthy, you are so loved and your life matters.

We love you all so much and we are so grateful for everything, it gives us the strength to keep going.

- Dave & Kim Shingler