MEET ANTHONY
Meet Anthony. He is 30, loves everything outdoors – surfing, mountain biking, snowboarding, camping, and has a degree in Controlled Environment Agriculture. Two years ago he was in a motorcycle accident on July 29, in Bali while exploring surf and work opportunities in South East Asia. Due to Covid shutting down borders and flights throughout the world he was stuck there for 50 days following his emergency surgery without proper rehabilitation and facing critical health challenges. Mid-September 2020 with the help of repatriation doctors from the Netherlands, he made it back to San Diego and to USCD. After three weeks of evaluations, scans, light in bed PT, and getting his overall health to a normal level he was transferred to Loma Linda for inpatient rehab because there were no doctors or facilities accepting new patients with Medical in San Diego. This facility, unfortunately, struggled to provide Anthony with the care and therapy he needed due to their staffing levels and he was discharged with little hope and added PTSD after only 28 days. His family and friends have rallied around him and raised money to get him as much Physical Therapy as possible since, but he was in need of more intensive hands-on therapies. He needed occupational therapy to help him gain independence and doctor-supervised physical therapy to help him overcome low blood pressure, mystery spasms, and massive muscle atrophy. Anthony’s mom found NeuroWorx in Sandy, Utah which specializes in those areas for those with paralyzing spinal cord injuries, and this summer she reached out to Rally4Reilly & Friends to see about a grant that could help to make a five-week intensive program possible. Within a few days of connecting with Mark and him speaking with the foundation board, Anthony was awarded the funding he needed to make the trip and treatments possible! On the way to NeuroWorx he was also able to attend the Unite2Fight Paralysis Symposium where he was able to speak to researchers, clinicians and those working to cure paralysis and the issues that arise from it. He has started the treatment program and will be there through the end of October. We will share more about his progress as it comes.
Update March 2023:
While at NeuroWorx Anthony learned that the hardware in is neck is creating a life threatening situation for him. Out of the 15 screws, only 3 are in bone and those are encroaching on his artery, stabbing the base of his skull and a nerve. He will be going back to Utah in May for reconstructive surgery where they will take out all the hardware, test his bones, fuse C1-2 and based on the testing install support or fusion at C4-C7. Following will be 3 months of in- and out- patient recovery before he will be able to travel home. Rally4Reilly & Friends will continue to support Anthony and his family in any way we can.
Update March 2023:
While at NeuroWorx Anthony learned that the hardware in is neck is creating a life threatening situation for him. Out of the 15 screws, only 3 are in bone and those are encroaching on his artery, stabbing the base of his skull and a nerve. He will be going back to Utah in May for reconstructive surgery where they will take out all the hardware, test his bones, fuse C1-2 and based on the testing install support or fusion at C4-C7. Following will be 3 months of in- and out- patient recovery before he will be able to travel home. Rally4Reilly & Friends will continue to support Anthony and his family in any way we can.
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