Support Cooper Bezeredi's Spinal Cord Recovery

Support Cooper Bezeredi's Spinal Cord Recovery.

Cooper Bezeredi is a loving brother, son, and friend who has been well-known and loved by his community since his early childhood achievements in athletics. A star athlete of Salem High School's class of 2017, Cooper has always worked hard to maintain his health, motivated by a deep desire to live his life to the fullest. This made the events of March 4, 2023 all the more devastating to him and our family.

What had started as a routine weight lifting session with a friend ended with a trip to the emergency room, a week of some of the the most highly qualified doctors in the country being baffled by his symptoms, and over a month in a rehabilitation facility as he started to relearn some of life's most basic skills. The kid who had always been something next to superhuman was suddenly confined to a bed without the use of his limbs... The illusive culprit? An "Incomplete Spinal Cord Infarction," in layman's terms, a type of stroke which occurs in the spinal cord, usually caused by lack of blood flow due, in this case, to a lifting injury and resulting in the death of some spinal cord and surrounding nerve tissue. These are incredibly rare, only accounting for approximately 0.3-1 percent of strokes. A life-changing condition.

Even still, Cooper's healing journey has been one of almost miraculous progress, thanks largely in part to the neurology team at The Cleveland Clinic and the staff at Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Center. During his time there, Cooper began to regain some mobility and function in his limbs, allowing him to start doing things like feeding himself and walking with assistance.

Since his discharge from Edwin Shaw in late April, Cooper has been in physical and occupational therapy and has made some progress until complications from a double hernia began to wreak havoc on his body, causing some setbacks and opening our eyes to the non-linear nature of his recovery. Luckily, he was able to have surgery to repair both hernias last week and is currently recovering, allowing him to return to physical and occupational therapy. We are optimistic that this will enable him to continue his healing journey with more confidence.

With that said, his condition has left him completely unable to earn an income for the past several months as well as the foreseeable future. We are so grateful to the company where he worked that his position is being held for him, but there's really no telling when or whether it will be feasible for him to make a return. Similarly, we have been so lucky to have his health insurance cover a vast majority of costs related to Cooper's injury, but it just does not do it all. With your donations, we hope to diffuse Cooper's cost of living expenses as well as those related to medical support deemed "elective" by insurance companies during this difficult time. Our family is incredibly grateful for any support you are able to share. If donation is not currently possible for you, we understand and ask that you please share with family and friends if you still wish to contribute. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your time and support.

With love to you and yours,

The Bezeredi Family