The sneeze that changed Gerard's life

Help the Power's get back on their feet
On the 27th of June 2021, Gerard, a 51 year old father of two had his life changed forever when a simple sneeze dislodged 3 clots from his left carotid artery, 2 into his left eye and one into the frontal lobe of his brain causing him to permanently lose his vision and threatening his life.
Gerard underwent major, serious surgery called a carotid endarterectomy on Monday 6th July to remove the clots. This 3 hour surgery is performed whilst the patient is awake and despite receiving local anesthetic is still painful and extremely overwhelming to experience. After some time spent in ICU, Gerard is now home recovering.

Unfortunately, the struggle has only just begun. He will be undergoing the same terrifying surgery on his right side in 6 weeks time. Even if things go as planned, Gerard is still in for 3-4 months of recovery where he cannot work and may never drive again.

This past year has already been a stressful situation financially for the family with Rach an ICU nurse required to be away working on the front line of the COVID pandemic and Gerard required to become primary carer for Sophia (11) and Alice (9) after losing his job.

With Gerard out of work for the foreseeable future and bills piling up, there are worries about how they will make mortgage re-payments and keep the girls at their current school. Rach would rather work a second job than ask for help but with her already working 14 hour shifts and the stress of adjusting to a life that has completely turned upside down, I am reaching out to their community to ask for help taking the pressure off right now.

If they could have their mortgage covered whilst Gerard is in recovery, that will allow them the space to recover and plan for a new normal where Gerard will be living with reduced eyesight, unable to drive and potentially having to find new employment. Any donation big or small will go such a long way to easing the stress and worry for this beautiful family.

Thanks so much for all your support so far and anything you can offer