Support Curt Robinson's Recovery Journey

** We waited to share this information until Curt was awake and gave consent. **

On Thursday, Curt ruptured his esophagus (the food tube to the stomach) and had to be immediately flown to Barnes for a 4.5 hr emergency cardiothoracic surgery. The surgery repaired the large tear in his esophagus (right above the stomach) and then cleaned out the chest cavity of the stomach acid and stomach contents. They believe it was just a fluke accident with having a narrow esophagus and that "food getting stuck feeling" and feeling the need to clear it to stop the discomfort. More scans and testing after he is healed will be done to investigate but for now, healing is priority number one.

He came off the vent for the second time on Sunday night. He has a feeding tube placed for meds and tube feeds, three chest tubes and a lot of other accessories. He is resting and thankfully making his recovery a priority. Pain control has been a hurdle due to the corrosive stomach acid inside the chest, the large incision and the chest tubes. The cardiothoracic surgeons that performed the surgery Thursday night said to expect at least a 3 week stay at Barnes if everything goes perfectly and the repair holds. Much longer if he needs any revision. He won’t be able to eat or drink anything for at least a few weeks. That would be hard on anyone, but for someone who built a business from his love of cooking for others, being separated from food is going to be tough.

He has a long road ahead of him and it’s going to be hard for him to sit still and heal. He just started his dream job 8 months ago, working full time at Bethany Fire Protection District as Assistant Fire Chief and EMT. He completed his first semester at Lakeland for his Paramedic license and is constantly running EMS and fire calls. He goes above and beyond not just training the firefighters but also to helps them understand the traditions and the brotherhood of firefighting. His job includes a lot of behind the scenes work that goes unnoticed in maintaining our fleet of fire trucks and ambulances at BFPD, but he did that even before hiring on full time. He still works countless unpaid hours at the firehouse because firefighting and EMS is his passion. If Curt has the opportunity to help, he will always be there. (And you can bet he's going to have the coffee pot on!)

We aren’t sure how long he will be off work, but I am setting up this GoFundMe to help alleviate the pressure on himself by trying to return to working too soon to serve his community again before he's fully healed. (He's going to really hate this GoFundMe idea when he finds out. He is the one who always helps others but never asks for help nor wants to inconvenience anyone, but it's time he learns it's ok to let other people HELP HIM.)

Curt owns Five Bugle BBQ and always donates his time and skills to cook for the Bethany Fire Volunteer's drive-thru dinner fundraiser, and other fundraisers. He is solely responsible for his financial income. Anything donated to him will be used to help cover his out of pocket amount of his medical bills, medical supplies needed to return home and help cover his business expenses while he is not able to cook during his prime season. We want him to be able to pick up where he left off when he's healed and not have to rebuild his business and personal financial stability due this unexpected medical event.

Please keep him in your prayers and send all the good juju his way. Share this if you get the chance. It's our turn to help him!