Help With Lee Gillette's Medical Bills

Alex Gillette is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

On the morning of Friday March 20th, my father Lee Gillette was in a severe car accident with his dog Max in the car while on the highway and driving past the town of Todos Santos in Baja California del Sur, Mexico. He was driving back to California, a drive he's done a dozen times before. At about 45 minutes into his drive after having just drank an energy drink (nothing illegal in his system according to doctors), he seems to have passed out behind the wheel regaining consciousness while drifting towards a steep embankment which would have certainly been the end for him. He overcorrected the car, caught a wheel and flipped over, landing on its roof and partially pancaking in (photo below is from when they got the car back upright).

A friend of my father's who was also driving as a caravan behind him in her car saw the entire thing and ran up to provide assistance. Upon arriving at the vehicle she couldn't believe my father was alive, let alone conscious (but in bad shape). Thankfully, the Saint Judes (a knockoff of the American hospital) ambulance pulled up shortly and hoisted him to a hospital for treatment. Though all of his cash and some of his belongings disappeared, he was alive - all we could hope for.

Having not learned about my father's accident until Friday night, I immediately assumed and prepared for the worst. I could not locate my father, but thankfully the State Department was able to track him down to an urgent care hospital called Fidepaz in La Paz, Mexico, where he was being treated.

I immediately booked a flight down and was able to be there the following evening, and he was in bad shape. I came to find out he had what’s called a hangman’s fracture. Doctors say it is a miracle that he survived (along with Max), and another miracle in the fact that he has full mobility in his extremities and no neurological damage. (photo below is after I cleaned him up a few days post-accident, and asked him for a smile).

After a week in the hospital, I was able to get him the treatment he needed, including having what's called a 'Halo' Brace installed into his skull, designed to keep his neck in place.

Having a broken neck in Mexico is no joke. With limited insurance for him and the car, and a system/situation that leaves me without any resources and minimal bargaining power, I had to shell out the equivalent $1,600 dollars for the first hospital that triaged him, and then another $4,000 dollars at Fidepaz hospital (photos attached in pesos) where they treated him for a week and installed the Halo brace. From there I was able to get him on a flight back through Los Angeles to Las Vegas, where he is with my younger brother Joshua who is an EMT and can provide longer term support than I would be able to in New Jersey.

While I know that my father can and will pay me back, I do have concerns that in addition to replacing his car it, will set him back a lot of money. That's why I'm reaching out to the public to see if anyone can help soften that blow, especially considering the physical pain that he has already dealt with.

If you know Lee Gillette, you probably love him. From being the baseball coach and umpire for my brother and I and many friends, to being a close confidant and support system for most everyone he came in contact with, my dad is 'the dude.' He has been touched by everyone's outpouring of support as he looks to get back on his feet (literally and figuratively) and anything that you can spare would be greatly appreciated. It is never easy having to see a loved one in such a state, but with a lot of luck and a ton of perseverance, I do believe that my father will make a full recovery. Looking to raise $10,000 to cover some of my father's medical bills ($5,600), the cost of flights and hotel stays for the week ($1,250) and a portion of the cost to replace his car. He will have to spend a lot of money on rehabilitation, specialist opinions, removal of the Halo brace, and I'd like to do everything I can to reduce the costs as much as possible.