Lori's Recovery Fund

In October of last year, Lori had brain surgery in Pittsburgh to remove a large, non-cancerous tumor which had already caused the loss of most of her hearing in one ear and was starting to affect her balance and sight. Except for the hearing nerve (she now has no hearing in that ear), all other affected nerves are expected to eventually recover from the trauma of the surgery.

 Lori is getting better every day, but a recovery that was expected to take weeks will take many months. Lori's symptoms of the trauma to the nerves and cerebellum include partial facial paralysis, blurred vision and eye fatigue, balance problems, reduced right arm and leg dexterity, and the inability to safely swallow any food or drink. She feeds herself through a stomach tube several times a day.

 Working hard to help the nerves recover from the trauma, Lori performs a series of daily exercises and works with occupational, physical, and speech therapists, and other specialists (eye doctor, nutritionist, acupuncturist, chiropractor). She has also begun an intensive two-month regimen of hyperbaric oxygen sessions to help wake up the nerves.

 Lori is expecting to return to her full time job in the coming months, but her vacation/sick time has run out and she currently is not receiving any pay.

 Lori is applying for disability in the off chance she can’t work for more than six months. All these things -- The loss of income during this extended recovery, the expenses related to high deductible insurance and important therapies that insurance won’t cover, and disability assistance that isn’t available until May -- have created a perfect financial storm for Lori’s family right now.   

 Any contribution will help during this critical time. Thank you very much for supporting Les and Lori.