Raymond (Ray) was born in Perry, Ga in 1945. He was a graduate of Perry High School in the Class of ’63. He went on to attend Georgia Southwestern University, where he served as Student Body President for 3 of his 4 years there. He was also an area radio DJ for15 years. He worked at The Pabst Brewing company in Perry for 10 years and has always been a well-respected member of the community.

On May 4th, 2023, Ray went in for what we expected to be a short outpatient procedure to clean up spinal abnormalities for improved mobility and renewed independence. As the surgery progressed, his surgical nurse called to tell me that the condition of his spine was far more severe than anticipated, making the surgery much more extensive than expected and the surgery was going to take longer. A procedure that was expected to be just over an hour became 5. Despite the best efforts of his medical team, he went from walking unassisted into the hospital toa permanent quadriplegic, all in the same day. He spent a little over a week in Neuro ICU, then approximately 2 1/2 weeks on the Neuro Floor waiting to find the best rehabilitation placement. We were able to get him transferred to Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta. This was the better of the 2 choices we were given and is definitely a world leader in research and rehabilitation on injuries of this nature. he’s been doing extensive physical, occupation, and speech therapy. He’s also doing intensive psychological therapy on how to deal with this sudden life changing situation.
He will no longer be able to go back to his own home as it was a mobile home, and the weight of the power wheelchair is not safe for the floors. So, he will be discharging to his mother’s old home that we are desperately trying to make handicapped accessible, as well as safe for the medical equipment that will be needed for his around-clock-care, since he is no longer able to take care of himself. The costs and copays are adding up very fast. We are still learning what he will need for homecare and what insurance will and won’t cover. I will update more about what all we need as we get closer to his discharge date, and I get more information.

Family and friends of Ray Matthews are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with Catastrophic Injury.
Ray has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.