Help Support Eric's Spinal Cord Surgery Journey

My son-in-law, Eric Ablott, dove into a lake in 2006 and broke his neck (C7) suffering a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down with a prognosis of a life in a wheelchair. Miraculously over a 6 month hospital stay and daily rehab, he recovered the ability to walk and functioned rather normally for 17 years. Over the past year, he has developed a myriad of symptoms, not limited to loss of bowel and bladder function, scoliosis from progressive spasticity and life threatening blood pressure spikes (250/180) which put him at a significant stroke risk. We have discovered that Eric has developed a tethered (scarred) spinal cord at the level of the injury that is causing slow and debilitating paralysis. We have been in contact with whom we believe to be the best surgeon in the world (Dr. Scott Falci) who will perform a spinal cord detethering surgery in Denver, CO at Swedish Medical Center. We are leaving Thursday to drop our children off with Eric's family in Nebraska and then head to Denver for his surgery on August 15th. He will undergo a 10-16 hours detethering surgery and will spend 10-14 days in the ICU after the surgery where he'll be kept horizontal to prevent a major CSF leak. The goal of the procedure is to stop progression but we are hopeful that it will help to regain some lost function as well.

My daughter Charlotte (Eric's wife) will be out of work for about 4 weeks (hopefully not more) and Eric will be out of work for a minimum of 8-12 weeks, depending on how well his recovery goes.

We are grateful for any support from their friends, family, and community!

If Venmo is easier: @Charlotte-ablott