Mike Rotondi Stroke Victim
Donation protected
In May of 2015 my son, Mike, was 44 years of age. He had an Arteriovenous Malformation. This unfortunately, caused a rupture and bleeding on the brain. Doctors could not fully explain the actual cause or why this suddenly happened. The only option doctors had was to try to repair the damage by preforming brain surgery as soon as possible to try and save his life. Meanwhile, my son was in a coma and was not aware of what was about to occur to him. His Skull had to be sawed open to remove a large part of his skull so the doctors could gain access to his bleeding brain to make repairs to stop the bleeding.
The fluid buildup was placing pressure on his brain and needed immediate attention. He was sedated and hooked up to a ventilator to assist his breathing through a Tracheotomy tube that had to be performed. He also had to have a feeding tube surgically installed so that he could be fed directly into his stomach. All this time he remained in a coma.
The first brain surgery unfortunately did not work. In total, my son had to have a total of (5) five brain surgeries performed over
a period of a few months. After being hospitalized for several months he was finally released from the hospital. With all his surgeries, medications and specialized 24 hour round the clock care (some was intensive care as well) the hospital bills have reached over an astounding $2 + million dollars. And, these costs are just climbing each and everyday for his daily care and needs.
He could not speak, eat, walk, sit or do anything for himself, he is 100% bedridden. He is home but his entire left side of his body is not functional. He must get outpatient therapy to help assist with his recovery as much as possible. That means he would need a specialized handicap van with a wheel chair lift and other necessities as soon as possible to transport him back and forth for his daily therapy session which is also quite expensive. He also has doctor and hospital appointments for check ups, medication changes and any necessary care that he requires.
We (his family) cannot afford the cost of his daily specialized therapy or to purchase this specially equipped vehicle due to it’s very high cost with all the special options that my son needs in order to be safely transported. My son needs all the physical therapy help that he can obtain in order to try to just get around the house and take minimal care of himself with our help. He would like to be able to walk again one day soon. He had some therapy at home but that was not successful because he needs highly specialized equipment that is only available at a therapy center that can assist with his kind of disabilities.
On a daily bases my son is cared for by a (CNA) Certified Nursing assistant. Meanwhile, his wife, Tonya, has to go to work to be able to put food on the table as well as normal everyday expenses which also include paying for his CNA as well. After her work shift is completed for the day she goes home and takes care of her husband for the remainder of the evening.
My wife and I are both quite elderly and disabled ourselves. Living on Social Security is a daily struggle and does not allow us
any means to provide our son additional meaningful help. We try to keep his spirits alive and visit him daily to cheer him up by sharing our time and love with him.
The fluid buildup was placing pressure on his brain and needed immediate attention. He was sedated and hooked up to a ventilator to assist his breathing through a Tracheotomy tube that had to be performed. He also had to have a feeding tube surgically installed so that he could be fed directly into his stomach. All this time he remained in a coma.
The first brain surgery unfortunately did not work. In total, my son had to have a total of (5) five brain surgeries performed over
a period of a few months. After being hospitalized for several months he was finally released from the hospital. With all his surgeries, medications and specialized 24 hour round the clock care (some was intensive care as well) the hospital bills have reached over an astounding $2 + million dollars. And, these costs are just climbing each and everyday for his daily care and needs.
He could not speak, eat, walk, sit or do anything for himself, he is 100% bedridden. He is home but his entire left side of his body is not functional. He must get outpatient therapy to help assist with his recovery as much as possible. That means he would need a specialized handicap van with a wheel chair lift and other necessities as soon as possible to transport him back and forth for his daily therapy session which is also quite expensive. He also has doctor and hospital appointments for check ups, medication changes and any necessary care that he requires.
We (his family) cannot afford the cost of his daily specialized therapy or to purchase this specially equipped vehicle due to it’s very high cost with all the special options that my son needs in order to be safely transported. My son needs all the physical therapy help that he can obtain in order to try to just get around the house and take minimal care of himself with our help. He would like to be able to walk again one day soon. He had some therapy at home but that was not successful because he needs highly specialized equipment that is only available at a therapy center that can assist with his kind of disabilities.
On a daily bases my son is cared for by a (CNA) Certified Nursing assistant. Meanwhile, his wife, Tonya, has to go to work to be able to put food on the table as well as normal everyday expenses which also include paying for his CNA as well. After her work shift is completed for the day she goes home and takes care of her husband for the remainder of the evening.
My wife and I are both quite elderly and disabled ourselves. Living on Social Security is a daily struggle and does not allow us
any means to provide our son additional meaningful help. We try to keep his spirits alive and visit him daily to cheer him up by sharing our time and love with him.
Organiser
John Rotondi
Organiser
Liberty, SC