Help With Phil “The Thrill” Sellers Recovery

Many of you remember Phil Sellers as the Rutgers basketball legend from when he was a first team All-American having led Rutgers to an undefeated regular season in 1976. He and the Rutgers community still have fond memories of that Final Four Season. In fact, the ‘76 team is still the yardstick by which all Rutgers teams are measured. But we are not just fans of Phil…Phil is our father and brother and we appeal to you to help during this particularly difficult period.

Since his playing days, Phil has lived a modest life, living and working in New Jersey, raising a family, and becoming a doting grandfather. He has persevered after having lost his dear wife Pat to cancer four years ago, and more recently having a hip replaced. Phil has always been a proud man, a self-sufficient individual who never looked for help. But his life took an unexpected turn for the worst recently, and we are hoping the community that remembers all that Phil did to put RU on the map years ago can contribute in some way now.

On May 24th, Phil was rushed to Mountainside (NJ) Medical Center with severe stomach pain and was quickly diagnosed with an intestinal perforation. This is a loss of continuity of the bowel wall and is a potentially devastating complication likely resulting from a variety of disease processes. An emergency life-saving surgery was performed that day. If that was not enough, during this process it was also discovered that Phil suffered from a dangerous build up of fluid in his lungs which also required another emergency surgery which was performed on May 26th.

Phil survived the surgeries and is now convalescing at Lakeview Rehabilitation & Care Center in Wayne, NJ. As you can imagine, the last few weeks have taken a toll on Phil physically and emotionally. Recovery has been slow and we now recognize it will take time and lots of care to nurse Phil back to health. We also recognize that insurance doesn’t begin to cover all the medical and living expenses facing him. The cost of care…whether in a facility or at home, doctors, aids, prescription drugs, physical rehabilitation, monitoring, and transportation…is daunting which is why we have established a GoFundMe Campaign.

It is important for us to explain exactly how we will put the money to use and how disbursement of these funds will be authorized. Given Phil’s condition, Kendra Sellers Palmer (Phil’s daughter) and Elijah Palmer (Phil’s son-in-law) will have authority and responsibility for administering the proceeds from GoFundMe. Every dollar will go toward Phil’s recovery and care.

We don’t kid ourselves or you in thinking we know everything that lies ahead or how much it will all cost. We don’t. But we do know that Phil is facing life-threatening medical issues with limited financial resources and really could use help.

While this is likely to change to some degree in the future given the uncertainty of Phil’s path to recovery, we currently see funds being used as follows:

Housing/Daily Care ($75,000)--The biggest short-term concern is daily care. Currently, Phil is bedridden, being fed intravenously and has a tracheotomy. Whether he is required to stay in his current facility or some other facility, insurance no longer pays for 100% of this care. This has put a huge and immediate financial strain on the family. Additionally, when Phil is released from acute care, his current house in East Orange, NJ is simply not conducive for healthy living at this point. He will require an aid for at least a year. The family will be facing the choice of finding an assisted living facility, significant renovation of Phil’s house to make it more patient-friendly or possibly the renovation of Kendra and Elijah’s house in North Plainfield, NJ to accommodate space for Phil. In any scenario, the costs will be high and beyond Phil’s current means.

Medical/Care Expenses ($75,000)--The other big area of expense is medical care. Broadly defined, this includes critical items that are either not covered by insurance or not covered fully by insurance. Things like doctor visits, prescriptions, physical rehabilitation, transportation to/from facilities and, importantly, the cost of in-home aids (especially if Phil winds up at his home in East Orange or at Kendra and Elijah’s). Groceries will also have to be delivered for the foreseeable future.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering a donation to Phil’s recovery. We also ask for your prayers which in so many ways is even more meaningful.

Thank you.

Kendra Sellers Palmer

Elijah Palmer