Greg Smalley

Praying for Greg

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, On July 6th, 2015 Greg suffered a C4 complete spinal cord injury while body surfing with his son on vacation in Mexico. The wave he was surfing rolled and he hit his head and neck on the ocean floor. As Greg surfaced, he had no feeling in his arms or legs. His son, Xander, held his head out of the water even as he called for assistance. Xander definitely saved his dad’s life.

Greg was taken to the local hospital for emergency surgery and then once he was stabilized, he was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville where family and friends were able to surround him with love as he received top-notch medical care.

On July 20th, Greg was admitted to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA for intensive rehab therapy. Since coming home we have been through many medical emergent struggles. Greg suffered 5 life threatening Autonomic Dysreflexic episodes the last one resulting in a brain bleed.
Even with insurance Greg will have many uninsured injury-related expenses such as: co-pays and deductibles, additional rehab that may include the purchase of equipment for in-home use for physical therapy.

Unfortunately, we have come up against many obstacles in obtaining the specialized care Greg requires to continue to hope for a future where he can be a part of the ongoing research for a cure. Physical therapy for his level of care is very limited and so far we have not been able to find any that will work with his level of injury.

With Insurance changes forced upon him due to being disabled, he no longer has skilled nursing care services available. He will have to pay for all his care out of pocket. This account has been able to provide necessary caregivers, Occupational Therapists, Equipment for Physical therapy that we are learning to use to help Greg exercise his muscles and bones to be weight bearing. He desperately wants to be strong and able to use a standing wheelchair one day soon. That will help him in so many ways. A standing wheelchair is not considered medical necessity and insurance rarely pays for them. Please donate if you can to help Greg get his standing wheelchair.

The CDC estimates that an individual living with a spinal cord injury will have between $500,000 to $3 million in lifetime out-of-pocket expenses.

To help offset such expenses, a fundraising campaign in Greg’s honor has been established with Help Hope Live, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law, are held by Help Hope Live in the South-Atlantic Spinal Cord Injury Fund, and are administered by Help Hope Live for injury-related expenses only. Please consider making a donation today and click the DONATE NOW bar.

How else can you help?
Host a fundraiser at your church/school/place of business
Place a coin bank at your place of business.
Purchase a Smalley Strong t-shirt at http://nestingproject.com/estore/category/helpingothers/pray-for-greg-smalley

Thanks to all of you in advance for your kindness and support of Greg and our family – together we can make a difference for Greg!

April Smalley