James Hewitt’s Family

Hi friends and family, my name is Kendall and I am creating this fundraiser on the behalf of my Dad, James Hewitt, who passed away peacefully October 11th, 2022. The purpose of this fundraiser is to help raise money for us to cover his cremation, transport back to Michigan from Florida, and other costs.

He came to Fort Myers, Florida Tuesday, October 5th from Grand Rapids, MI to help an old friend of his (who recently lost his dad to cancer) pack up things from his father’s home and also to help others clean up from the aftermath of hurricane Ian. While down here, on Saturday, October 8th, he fell into the water injuring his leg. He didn't think much of it, cleaned the wound, applied antibacterial ointment. and continued to help. Early Sunday morning, October 9th, he woke his friend up because his leg was extremely painful and swollen and asked him to take him to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital emergency department, they determined he had an infection in his blood known as vibrio vulnificus, that is caused by a saltwater bacteria. Vibrio is a bacteria that has a very high mortality rate, especially in those that have weakened immune systems, like my Dad. They immediately began treatment with the appropriate antibiotics but he was not responding as quickly as we had hoped. He continued to worsen and decline in the emergency department and was admitted to the ICU with sepsis, where he ended up on a total of 5 vasopressors to try to support his heart and blood pressure. His body was working so hard to fight the infection that he also had a very high respiratory rate causing him to become acidotic. They ultimately decided to sedate him and put him on a ventilator - this occurred on Sunday night. This gave his lungs a break and helped improve his blood gasses and also provided some relief for his heart. The last time I had a conversation with my Dad was over the phone on Sunday when he had been brought to the ICU. I said to my Dad, "Dad I need you to fight with everything in your being and I am coming and I will be there as soon as I can". I cried in fear while saying this to him not knowing if I would make it in time. The last thing he said to me was that he loved me too. I immediately purchased a plane ticket and arrived at the hospital by Monday afternoon. My Dad was sedated so he was not able to respond to me. I talked to him and continued to encourage him to keep fighting. I remained at his bedside overnight and into the following day. My brother, Joshua, arrived on Tuesday in the afternoon. My Dad's fiance, Leah, arrived on Tuesday night. I had been sending them texts providing the best updates I could. The nurses worked tirelessly to try and provide him with the care and support to overcome his infection. Sadly, he lost his fight and passed away peacefully surrounded by Joshua, Leah, and I. Along with one of the nurses, Jennifer, and the chaplain, Sue Ellen. It was as if my Dad knew we all were there and that we had each other.

Please consider donating to help Josh, Leah, and myself out. Thank you all. I know my Dad had a big heart filled with love for so many friends and family ❤️