Let's help Wanzie!

Hi, Andrea Canny here. On Thursday, June 15, 2023, our dear friend, Michael Wanzie was involved in a head-on collision while driving home from Trivia Night, his weekly gig at Savoy. It took place in the middle of a nasty thunderstorm and was just an unfortunate accident.

His little Smart Car was totaled, and he was crushed and twisted in the debris. His right leg literally went through the floorboard, breaking his right ankle and right femur in the process. Despite the deployment of two separate airbags (steering column and driver’s side door), his head made impact with the windshield, and he was covered head-to-toe in bruises and abrasions. His right leg took quite a beating. The femur was a complete break along with complicated ankle fractures. He underwent emergency surgery to insert a titanium rod alongside the reset femur and surgically repaired the right ankle as best possible. A femur fracture of this severity is a life-threatening injury.

The femur break alone presents one of the greatest rehab challenges of them all. It’s a long and painful journey that is commonly 6 months to a year or longer. Adding the broken ankle to the complete femur fracture will make his recovery even more arduous and challenging.

Michael will continue to rehabilitate his leg at an inpatient skilled nursing facility while we get his home ready for his return. He will require many weeks to months of at-home rehab, with a visiting physical therapist. But he cannot be discharged to return home until we are able to meet all the required handicap modifications to his home.

Even with the greatest insurance possible (Michael is a Medicare/Medicaid recipient), this kind of injury becomes a financial burden for anyone, on top of everything else. There are limits to coverage and non-covered necessities for his long recovery process.

For starters, Michael must have a wheelchair ramp built and his homemade handicap accessible BEFORE he can be discharged from inpatient rehab to home. The wheelchair ramp alone costs $2,000 plus permit fees. The floors in his home are not handicap accessible and the cost to level his floors to remove trip hazards and make them safe is $6,000. Then there are handicap modifications needed in his bathroom - $1,000. There could be other modifications needed depending on if he is completely wheelchair/bedridden or if he can ambulate on a walker at discharge. His doctors are currently predicting discharge in a wheelchair.

NONE of these handicap modifications are covered by insurance but, thankfully his landlord is agreeable to letting these handicap modifications be done so he can come home. But Michael is responsible for the lion’s share of these handicap modifications. His landlord did pay an additional $3,200 for structural repairs that were needed before any of the handicap improvements could be done. Lake Mary and his landlord require permits for all this, which adds expense and complexity.

On the medical side, there will be significant non-covered medical expenses. There is medical equipment that may or may not be covered. He has been told that being discharged with a hospital bed at home will speed his recovery, but it is unclear if that will be covered by his Medicare Advantage plan and to what extent if they do cover some of it. There is a strong possibility that he will need home PT beyond the coverage limits of his Medicare Advantage Plan. He will not be able to drive for the foreseeable future due to the severe damage to his right leg compounded with severe mobility limitations. Yes, there are medical transports available, but that is a difficult and unreliable system to depend on. There will be ongoing transportation needs to doctor appointments and other necessities.

A conservative goal of $20,000 has been set for his recovery needs for the 6-to-12-month recovery period. Your femur is the longest, largest, heaviest, and strongest bone in the body. It makes standing and walking possible. A femur fracture has a very long, painful, and difficult recovery process. There is no bodily injury coverage to pursue and there is no legal angle from which to recover any money.

Michael has touched countless lives with his activism, his artistic productions and just being himself. Please contribute what you can to his recovery fund so he can concentrate on his medical recovery and not have to worry about the unexpected financial burden of his accident. So many people have reached out wanting to know how they can help. Well, this is it, this is what he needs from you right now. This is what he needs for his recovery.

Donate if you can and/or please SHARE!!