Support for Craig and the Beeman Family

Hi, my name is Maureen, or Mo to many. I am fundraising for my partner Craig's medical expenses and our living expenses while we cannot work for an undetermined amount of time.

In January 2022, Craig went to the ER after injuring his neck. The doctors cleared him of serious injury but found an abnormal growth on his thyroid. After a referral to a local ENT (Ear, Neck, Throat doctor), lots of biopsies, and CT Scans, they decided he needed a partial, if not complete, thyroidectomy. On November 2, Craig went to the ER with pain in his neck and shoulder area. The doctor prescribed Craig muscle relaxers, said he probably slept wrong, and sent him on his way.

On November 7, Craig went in for his partial thyroidectomy. Before his procedure, Craig informed his surgeon that he was having level 8 pain in his neck and shoulder, and if he lifted his head past a certain point, it quickly rose to level 10. His surgeon decided to continue with the planned surgery. For the thyroid removal, the surgery team needed to place Craig's head as far back as possible to access his throat, a position he would not have been able to do had he not been under anesthesia.

Once Craig came out of anesthesia, he could not feel his hands or legs from the knees down. His ENT doctor initially dismissed this as a side effect of his diabetes. When he could not grab a cup to drink, the nurse rushed to get his doctor. Craig had an emergency MRI. The XRAY from January 2022 and MRI results from November 7th both showed a bulging disc in Craig's neck between the C4 and C5 vertebrae. The bulging disc from the January 2022 XRAY was never once addressed or relayed to Craig during his many doctor visits, specialist visits or CT Scans. Instead, it was dismissed as "sleeping wrong" on multiple occasions, even the day of surgery. The surgery exacerbated an underlying issue, turning it into an emergent issue. Craig was temporarily paralyzed from Monday evening until Tuesday when he finally took a few steps with a walker. His ENT came into the room, apologized and said she thought he was talking about his lower back when he described his pain.

After a meeting with a neurosurgeon, Craig was informed he needed immediate surgery on his C4 and C5 vertebrae for a fusion process. He said it was dire and needed to be addressed ASAP to avoid permanent damage. Insurance did not approve the surgery because he was admitted for an unrelated surgery (the thyroidectomy). The neurosurgeon has submitted another insurance claim and is awaiting the results. Initially, the vertebrae fusion surgery was to be performed November 8th. Then a tentative date of Monday November 14th. November 10th, the neurosurgeon called and gave a date of December 9th, pending insurance approval. If approved sooner, the surgery date will be expedited. Until the surgery is completed, Craig is incapacitated.

Craig has since been released from the ICU, due to insurance not covering anymore time in the hospital. He has limited mobility and is unable to lift anything over 5lbs. He cannot go up the stairs and has been set up in the basement/guest area of our home. I cannot go to work, as I need to care for Craig and our 3 children, ages 3,5 and 9.

Normally, Craig works from home and can take care of the kids as I go to work in the evenings. Craig is unable to sit at his desk, work on his computer or care for the children. I am unsure how long we will both be out of work, and this is a pretty scary time for our family

Thank you for getting this far and for taking the time to read this! We are rather embarrassed that this is a route we have to take, but with no money coming in and bills still coming, we have done this as a last resort. Anything is greatly appreciated, especially warmth from those of you we love. Also, if anyone has a recommendation for possible legal rights Craig may be entitled to, that would be so helpful.

Thank you all,

Craig, Mo, Kai, Layla and Liam