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Douglas's spinal decompression surgery can't wait - please help us cover the bill

Douglas needs spinal decompression surgery at Saint Joseph Hospital and the family is $6,350 short of the hospital's estimate.

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Victoria B. Gibson
Email verifiedPhoto verified
San Diego
Douglas was diagnosed with a cleft palate needing repair in March. The surgeon at Saint Joseph Hospital recommended spinal decompression surgery, and He is scheduled for July. The hospital's financial office gave us a written estimate of $8,500, and after what the public health scheme will pay we're still $6,350 short. my husband has been in and out of Saint Joseph Hospital since March. The doctors say a cleft palate needing repair will get worse without spinal decompression surgery. We have emptied our savings and borrowed from relatives, but the estimate of $8,500 is more than we can find. While we wait, Douglas struggles with daily life and can't look after the children alone. His family has taken turns caring for him, and I've cut my own work hours to be there. Rehabilitation is expected to take about 8 weeks. During that time Douglas won't be able to look after the children alone, so the costs keep growing. I'll pay the hospital and pharmacy directly and post every receipt in the updates section. Where the $6,350 goes: • Surgeon and anesthesia fees: $3,200 • Post-operative medication: $380 • Pre-operative tests and imaging: $360 • Hospital stay (3 nights): $2,100 • Physiotherapy sessions: $310 Thank you for reading my story. - Victoria
due date
2026-06-14
bill type
Hospital invoice
#surgery#hospital-bills#recovery#medical

Updates from Victoria

  1. Good news. Because of your gifts ($3,714 in total) the plan for post-operative medication is now scheduled. Still a way to go but it feels less lonely.

  2. Small update. $1,354 so far, I met with the hospital and confirmed the amounts.

Donations

RecentTop gifts
  • Itzel D. Castro 🇺🇸 · $25

    “Get well soon. Thought of Douglas all day after reading this. - San Diego”

  • Kayode Olumide Okafor 🇳🇬 · $25
  • Satria Erlangga Hartono 🇮🇩 · $200
  • Yuki Haruka Kondo 🇯🇵 · $20

    “Stay strong. Hope this covers a bit of it. - Nagoya”

  • Anonymous 🇷🇺 · $10
  • Tarun E. Meena 🇮🇳 · $25
  • Andrew Le 🇺🇸 · $10
  • Cristina P. Maldonado 🇺🇸 · $100
  • Carlos G. Lara 🇺🇸 · $100
  • Mónica K. Chávez 🇪🇸 · $8

    “Good luck. My mother told me about this one. - Madrid”

  • Ani Harahap 🇮🇩 · $25
  • Charles S. Rice 🇺🇸 · $100
  • Kemal Tarık Karaca 🇹🇷 · $100
  • Anonymous 🇬🇧 · $50
  • Temitope Kehinde Raji 🇳🇬 · $20
  • Edoardo Valentini 🇮🇹 · $31

    “Keep your head up. Please keep us posted. - Verona”

  • Mary Grace W. Francisco 🇵🇭 · $10
  • Nora Snyder 🇺🇸 · $25
  • Gabriel J. Torres 🇲🇽 · $30
  • Allison R. Burton 🇺🇸 · $200

    “You got this. This is from my last paycheck, glad to do it. - Flint”

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  • Ramesh Bikash Magar

    Rooting for you, Victoria. I've been in a tough spot myself and it does get easier. The breakdown of costs made it easy to trust. Love from São Paulo.

    • Zawadi Wambui Ouma

      Praying for you. Reading this made my day a bit heavier but I'm glad I did. Don't be hard on yourself for asking

      • Samuel S. Ocampo

        hang in there, Victoria. Hope you get there. I went through something like this 8 years ago and strangers helped me out. Greetings from Quezon City

        $6,101 raised of $6,350

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