Urgent Help Needed: Broken Hip Abroad

Hello everyone,

I am reaching out to you with an urgent plea for help. While fulfilling my passion for teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) in the beautiful country of Kazakhstan, a sudden accident occurred, causing me to fall off a horse and sustain severe injuries. As I undergo medical treatment and recovery, I am faced with mounting medical expenses and challenges that threaten my ability to continue teaching and making a positive impact in the lives of my students.

As many of you know, I recently fell off a horse in the mountains. I am reaching out with an urgent plea for help. As I undergo medical treatment and recovery, I am faced with mounting medical expenses.

Falling off a horse has truly been one of the worst experiences I've ever had. It was completely unexpected and unplanned. I've been on horses many times before without any issues, but this time my horse was acting very strangely, and I could tell something was wrong. I informed the instructor that the horse was behaving oddly and asked to be let off because I felt uncomfortable with this particular horse.

Despite being an expert horse rider, the instructor started laughing and dismissed my concerns as overly dramatic, telling me to keep going. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my horse started running wildly without stopping. I screamed for help, and when a female instructor rushed to my aid and tried to stop the horse, it crashed headfirst into her horse, pushing her down the cliff. The horse continued to run at full speed, and I was terrified for my life. After a few minutes of the horse running uncontrollably and no one coming to help, I couldn't hold on any longer. I fell off the horse and broke my right hip and thigh bone on both sides, requiring surgery. The entire experience, from the hospital stay to getting there, was a nightmare, and the pain I endured was unimaginable. The healthcare system here is incomparable to that of the United States.

Firstly, they don't use any narcotics here, so I felt pain throughout my entire stay, being moved from bed-to-bed and different rooms with broken bones. Even after surgery, I felt excruciating pain and prayed for the pain to stop.

Secondly, visitors weren't allowed, so I had to endure this ordeal alone in a hospital where nobody spoke English. When they came to change my bandages, their approach was aggressive, assuming that as a man, I should tolerate the pain. Adding to my suffering, I developed an infection, which they treated without any pain management. I was shaking, shivering, and sweating, contemplating if death might have been better.

I had to stay in the hospital for 9 days, incurring significant costs. Prices are much lower in Kazakhstan compared to the U.S., but as I'm receiving local currency, I'm facing financial difficulties. Now I need to purchase over 12 medications, a wheelchair, and a walker, and I have to figure out how to return home with minimal funds. This is why I've created this GoFundMe page.

Creating such a page is a step I'm taking as a last resort. Asking for help is challenging for me, given that I've always worked and sustained myself. But please, if you can, help me through this difficult time. Your support would mean the world to me. If you know me, you understand that I'm a hard worker constantly striving for self-improvement. Currently, I won't be able to walk for 2 months, and full recovery will take 6-12 months. I'm dependent on others for even basic tasks, which is humbling and miserable.

I've shed countless tears these past few days, yet I'm doing my best to maintain a brave facade. My friends have had to assist me with basic hygiene tasks since I can't even shower for another 3 weeks. I feel guilty that these people, whom I've only known this year, are burdened with such duties.

Right now, I truly need financial assistance to cover medical bills, medication, a wheelchair, a walker, and a ticket back home. If you can contribute in any way, I'd deeply appreciate it. I'll remember your generosity for life and pledge to pay it forward if any of you find yourselves in a similar situation in the future.

Thank you in advance,

Omie