Help our Dad walk normally again

COVID-19 almost killed our dad last year, and now it has taken away his ability to walk.

Hi. My name is Jet. I’m the guy in the middle in the picture above, and my brother Avery is the guy on the right. We have launched this GoFundMe campaign because our dad, Tony Smith, the handsome old fella on the left, needs your help to walk again.

Dad had a life-threatening case of COVID-19 when he went to the ER in critical condition last August. He couldn't get enough oxygen from the air he was breathing and as a result was too weak to walk more than a few steps.

He was immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Twelve days later, a large clot known as a “saddle block” cut off the blood flow to his lungs and heart, almost killing him. Dad was saved by God and a superb team of cardiothoracic surgeons, and he was finally able to go home after 47 days in the hospital. By mid-October, he was able to return to work as a train crew transport driver and we thought that, at last, things were looking up.

But COVID-19 wasn’t finished with him yet.

In mid-November, Dad began to have pain in his lower back, hips, and buttocks. At first, he thought it was normal muscle soreness from the light strength and stretching exercises he had resumed. He stopped his workouts, but the pain only worsened and radiated down to the back of his thighs and his knees. Over the next few weeks, the pain became nearly unbearable for him. His legs became weaker and weaker, and by Christmas, he was unable to stand or walk without the aid of a walker.

The New Year brought more leg weakness and pain. Finally, an MRI revealed the problem: Dad's lumbar spine was a train wreck, thanks to intervertebral disc degeneration (IVD). The five lumbar discs had collapsed, putting enormous pressure on the nerves in his lower back that control his legs, bladder, and bowels. This pressure is causing his legs to weaken, and he is starting to suffer mild but embarrassing symptoms of urinary incontinence.

A mix of heredity and age typically causes IVD. But researchers have recently discovered that severe COVID-19 coupled with diabetes mellitus can wreak havoc on the spinal discs. Doctors believe that is likely what happened to Dad. Even with his walker, Dad can barely make it 20 feet these days, and he is virtually a shut-in.

There is no cure for IVD disease, and the damage it causes can only be addressed through surgical procedures. The most common treatment is lumbar spinal fusion, but it has a notoriously low success rate—less than 40%. Unfortunately, even if a fusion were the best choice, the general anesthesia necessary for this sort of major back surgery would be too dangerous for Dad due to the damage to his lungs caused by COVID-19 and the pulmonary embolism he sustained while in the ICU. These and other medical risk factors mean that fusion is out of the question for him.

Thankfully, there is an alternative: minimally invasive microsurgery performed on an outpatient basis at the renowned Bonati Spine Institute in Hudson, Florida. The treatment is safer for Dad since it is performed under local anesthetic via a tiny incision in the back; he will be awake the whole time and able to speak to the surgical team. The procedure takes just a few hours, but Dad will need to remain in Florida for one to two weeks afterward for follow-up visits with his surgeons.

Fortunately, Dad's Christian healthcare cost-sharing ministry has agreed to pay the $60,000 cost of the surgery. However, it will not cover the expense of going to Florida, lodging in an AirBnB for at least a week, if not two, or the missed income for both our Dad and our Mom, who will be accompanying him to Florida. This campaign's funds will be utilized to pay such non-medical expenditures.

Dad's MRI and X-rays have been evaluated by the physicians at Bonati, and they are ready to start as soon as he can travel to Florida. The surgeons at Bonati, as well as the physicians and surgeons he's visited in Tennessee, believe he needs surgery ASAP and that he's in a race against time.

Because, in addition to being unable to walk and function normally right now, if the pressure on the nerves in Dad's spine is not relieved quickly or increases abruptly, he may suffer lasting neurologic damage. If this occurs, Dad may not only be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but he may also lose control of his bladder and bowels. He urgently needs surgery to avert such a calamity. Yesterday would not be too soon.

Dad is a kind, compassionate, big-hearted guy who loves God and his fellow man and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Kindly help him with whatever the Lord puts on your heart to give.

Thank you for helping our dad walk again.

Blessings,

Jet and Avery