Help Rich Kulovany Cover COVID Expenses
If you’ve been following the story on Facebook you probably know that my dad, Rich Kulovany, has been fighting a horrible battle with COVID-19.
My dad was exposed at work in early December. After testing positive on 12/5 his symptoms worsened each day, and he was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital on 12/11. His lungs were filled with COVID-pneumonia and he was absolutely exhausted. Despite the best efforts of his care providers, his health continued to decline, and we received the call on Christmas morning that he was placed on a ventilator. That day our family had an extremely emotional Zoom call with him, though he was not conscious. We all thought we might be saying goodbye, and we begged him through our tears to please stay with us because we weren’t ready to lose him.
Over the weeks that followed we vacillated between hope and despair. We knew our dad was a fighter and he wasn’t going to give up easily, and that hundreds of you have been praying and sending good thoughts. But this virus is such an unknown enemy, we couldn’t be sure that he’d come back to us.
On January 9th my mom visited him following the surgery to put in the trach and feeding tube. He looked so ill that he was almost unrecognizable. We had a very desperate discussion with his medical team about what else could be done that hadn’t yet been tried. The doctor said that two weeks before he had been “knocking on heaven’s door,” but now that they’d be able to lessen the sedation it would give him a real chance to fight.
On Sunday, January 11th my mom went to visit again and sent the following text “ Dad looks 100% better. He is mouthing words to me and goofing around!!!” Words cannot express the joy we felt at receiving that news.
He is continuing to improve little bits each day. Now the process of transitioning to a rehabilitative facility begins. He will be moving to RML Specialty Hospital in Hinsdale. They have one of the best ventilator weaning rates in the United States. However, the out of pocket expense to get him into a rehabilitative facility is $6,700 before insurance will cover anything. He has no idea of when he will be able to return to work.
I’d really like to relieve my mom, Kathy, of the weight of some of this financial burden in order to allow her to focus on my dad. As my dad has obviously not been working for the last month and a half, they now only have their social security, and I know she’s been concerned about how they will cover these costs.
Our family has deeply appreciated your prayers and good wishes. It has helped tremendously to read your kind and loving words. If you are able to contribute anything to help cover the cost of my dad’s care, we’d be incredibly grateful.
Thank you so much,
Jen Ostrum, Kathy Kulovany, Mike Kulovany, and Jim Kulovany
