Support Eric's Journey: Restoring Harmony After Neck Surgery

Eric has always been a carefree guy who plays bass guitar, disc golf, hockey, and loves being outdoors for concerts, camping, and hiking. He’s always got a smile, but Eric had been experiencing pain and other health-related issues due to spine and nerve damage. It is not his tendency not to burden others with such news, and it's possible that even his doctors didn't fully grasp the severity of his situation. Getting the doctors to understand what he was going through, and finding the right doctor took a long time. The pain had been getting worse and it impacted his ability to work and take part in family activities. He started having trouble moving and using his limbs which was scary, and the pain would keep him up at night.

Eric’s original doctor was an orthopedic surgeon and they had been the first to identify that he needed a cervical fusion, however, the doctor was hesitant to operate stating he did not want to make the wrong choice. Eric was seeing this doctor from August of 2023 to April of 2024, and he sent Eric for X-rays, an MRI, cortisone injections, a nerve block test, an EMG, and multiple labs and despite the results indicating the need for a surgery nothing was scheduled and our hopes would be crushed following each appointment with this doctor. At the appointment in April 2024 the doctor basically said Eric had too many symptoms and he did not know what to do so he referred him to a neurologist who it ended up would not be able to see him until August of 2024.

While Eric was waiting all of this time he would continue to deteriorate. Eric shared on Facebook in early May 2024, “Over time I had started to lose function in both my arms and later was followed by extreme loss of function in my left arm and wrist, along with my left leg not working the way it should. When I first noticed my balance was off, I was on the ice coaching Alex’s hockey team. I was shooting on the goalie, and I could tell I was about to fall down. I fell forward and didn’t hurt anything except for my dignity … after that, I continued coaching, but I did not go on the ice for practice anymore as I knew it was unsafe for me to do so. The next week I played my bass for the opening set at the family jam when a few minutes into the set, I noticed my left hand being very sluggish and struggling to move up and down the neck. The following week, I became unable to grip things and was no longer able to play my bass at all. That same week my left leg became incredibly heavy, making it difficult to walk and impossible to walk fast.” Eric would struggle to complete even basic daily tasks and was often just spending his time on the couch watching daytime television and becoming very frustrated with the entire situation.

Luckily, we had started doing some of our own research into Eric’s symptoms and the required surgery. We started asking around to others who had similar surgeries and narrowed our choice down to Goodman Campbell Brain & Spine and ended up meeting Dr. Mobasser on April 30, 2024. Upon meeting Eric and seeing his records one of Dr. Mobasser’s first questions was why Eric did not have the surgery back in August of 2023. We both told him that was a great question! Dr. Mobasser felt that this was very urgent to attend to and within less than two weeks of meeting him Eric would have all the needed pre-surgical tests completed and went into the operating room on May 8th, 2024, for his three-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). This would address the issues with his C-4 through C-6.

Following the surgery, Eric was instructed to wear his C-collar all the time and to not drive, not bend or twist, not do housework, and not lift more then 10 pounds. The doctor told him he could walk as he was able to tolerate and then at his 3 day follow up gave him an order for physical therapy so he could work on regaining strength in his arms. Eric has been diligent in getting out of regular walks as he is able. Eric was a little frustrated after about two weeks feeling he was not making progress but had to remind himself of just how major a surgery this is and that he is basically rebuilding most of the strength in his extremities as well as allowing for his cervical bones to fuse. We have learned that MOST people start noticing significant recovery within 3 to 6 months. To put that in perspective, in 3 months from the surgery, Alex will be back in school, and in six months we’ll be getting ready for Thanksgiving, which is when we are thinking we might be reaching some degree of normalcy.

On June 6th, we had Eric’s 4-week follow up visit. Eric shared with the surgeon that he was feeling a little discouraged after week 2, but then realized it was going to be a long road and the doctor confirmed the recovery will take several months. As of this visit, Eric has been cleared to have his C-collar off at times but has been instructed to still wear it when going out and he said he’d prefer to wear it when sleeping. He can start turning his neck gently, only 10-15 degrees max, he has been cleared to lift 10-15 pounds, and the doctor wants him to be doing more strength training as he can tolerate. He is allowed to drive but we’ll need to get those little bubble mirrors for the car so he can see into the blind spots without turning his head so likely not driving long trips any time soon.

It's hard to prepare for what this will be like and it’s not just the struggle of the person who is going through it but the family as well. Eric’s sister Kelli had graciously started a meal train page for us prior to Eric’s surgery and that has been an amazing help, and we would like to thank everyone who has already contributed there. The meal train donations helped us to pay off some medical bills that we already had for Eric, buy groceries without worry, keep on track with our household expenses, it allowed us to sign Alex up for summer camp with scouts and the summer tennis program, and also buy items to assist in Eric’s recovery, such as pillows to keep him comfortable, physical therapy tools, two special post-surgery t-shirts, a shower stool, and more.

Prior to the surgery we had also filed a claim for disability, but likely will not hear back until October 2024 and could still be denied. My income is just enough to cover our monthly bills and Eric’s income generally cover’s expenses for us like groceries, gas, prescriptions, home & auto maintenance, activities we sign Alex up for, and annual or bi-annual expenses such as car insurance and school fees, and more, which when estimating costs of added up to much more than we thought they did.

Some of the medical bills have already started to come in related to the tests and procedures leading up to the surgery and so far, those are over $2000. The claims from the surgery are still being processed, but when Eric went to switch physical therapists, they were able to estimate how much we had left on our out-of-pocket maximum, and with the cost of physical therapy we will hit it meaning we will be responsible for just over $8000 in medical bills alone.

I tend to try and figure out how I can take care of everything on my own, but upon doing the math it is clear that we need to ask for help. Your support can make all the difference. With your generosity, we can alleviate the financial stress, allowing Eric to focus on his recovery without worry. Every contribution, big or small, brings us closer to a brighter tomorrow. Join us in supporting Eric's journey back to health. Together, we can help him reclaim his passions and rebuild his life.

Thank you all!

-Brooke, Eric, & Alex