Gabe’s Story

On May 23, 2009, my husband Gabriel was found down at our home in Las Vegas at approximately 11:00pm, unconscious and barely breathing. As a quadriplegic (in 2001 at 18 years old Gabe dove into a shallow lake and broke his neck), Gabe is very susceptible to decubitus ulcers, and he had developed one that reached stage IV and had become infected to the point of sepsis. As a result, he suffered respiratory failure, a heart attack, rhabdomyolysis, and a whole host of additional complications.
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Gabe was admitted to the ICU at MountainView Hospital from May 24 until July 08, when he was transferred to Healthsouth Tenaya, which is a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, and where he remains today (September 12 ~ day 111).

He has come a long way and his kidneys and heart are now in good condition. His ulcer is healing well with the aid of a wound vac, and is no longer infected, however, he remains on the ventilator and a feeding tube. He is awake, and aware, but unable to speak. He has also lost the limited use of his arms that he had previously due to atrophy. His doctors are confident that with time and aggressive rehab, Gabe will get off the vent completely, and will regain the use of his arms. He has already come SO far, and is generally in good spirits.

At this time, Nevada Medicaid no longer wants to cover the level care that Gabe has been receiving, and want him to transfer to a skilled nursing facility, where he will not be weaned from the ventilator or receive the physical, occupational, and speech therapy that he absolutely requires. I refuse to condemn him to a nursing home at 26 years old. We are now trying to raise the funds required to transport Gabe by air ambulance back to his home state of Michigan (where we have family and a home), so that he can receive the care he so desperately needs and DESERVES. He will be sent either to a LTAC facility in Saginaw, or to Midland Hospital in Midland. When he gets off of the ventilator, he will then be transferred to Mary Free Bed Hospital in Grand Rapids, which is a rehab hospital that specializes in spinal cord injury, and was where Gabe did his SCI rehab in 2001. We are doing everything we can to stall, but our transfer is imminent.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!
The cost for Air Ambulance transport from Las Vegas to Saginaw, MI is $21,700, and Medicaid will NOT cover any of it. Gabe does not qualify for charity provided air transport as he is a) non-ambulatory, b) requires a pressurized cabin, and c) requires in-flight ventilator support and medical care.

Donations can be made directly to The Gabriel Alberda Irrevocable Trust, c/o Merrill Lynch, (account: CMA 696-11540), via PayPal (gsatrust@gmail.com), or can be mailed to me at new Michigan address ~ 1224 E. Freeland Rd., Merrill, MI 48637

Thank you so much for your love and support! Every little bit helps! (Seriously! $5!)

Love, Heather & Gabe Alberda, and family   less

Please support my participation in the 5th annual Wheels In Motion to help make a difference in the lives of people living with Spinal Cord Injury.

This is a cause near and dear to my heart... your donations and support are truly appreciated!

https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/StartUp.aspx?SID=1488642

love, Heather

Hey everyone... I just wanted to hop on here and let everyone know that I'm doing just fine... great actually! I've been working like crazy trying to get this website going, and I've been in and out of town and entertaining guests as well...
Thank you all for your kind words and concern... I am on here trying to watch your videos as much as possible, I just really haven't had a whole lot of leisure time lately...

Love you all and I'll try to post an update vlog soon.

as requested... www.myspace.com/stella_dog

I've uploaded my first video... a ramble, as per usual, but here it is nonetheless...

H.