Family, friends, and other email recipients,
I, Brian Perez, was performing an impressive (and foolish) dance move on July 4th of this year when I heard a snap and lost my ability to walk. What appeared to be a clumsy expression of patriotism on my part quickly became a very serious and troubling medical dilemma. A few days later, I discovered through an MRI that I had completely destroyed my left ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and the only way to repair it is surgical ACL reconstruction.
Being uninsured, I assumed surgery was financially out of reach. Estimates online ranged anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000. The information on the internet clearly stated though, if you fail to repair a torn ACL, the damage from use of the knee is irreversible and extremely debilitating. A friend of mine who works in pain management referred me to a surgeon for evaluation.
The surgeon, Dr. Jonathan Greenleaf, is the first choice in the Portland area for most athletes with similar injuries. He has performed hundreds of ACL repairs. He approached the surgery center, anesthesiologist, and staff and was kind enough to lower the cost of my surgery to approximately $5,000.
Although $5,000 is no small sum, it is incredibly inexpensive for surgery. Anyone who has had the misfortune of an uninsured accident or illness can attest to this. With Dr. Greenleaf’s estimate, I made my appointment for surgery for August 25th.
I am sending this email to you today because the surgical center requires $2,000 up-front to have surgery this coming Tuesday. I have been unable to work since my injury and I do not have $2,000. Because of recent economic turmoil, I do not expect any of you to have that kind of money to give to someone else for their medical problems. My parents, unfortunately, are unable to help in any regard as my father has been out of work for over a year. I’m sending this email to everyone I know in hopes of small donations from many individuals in order to preserve my future ability to walk.
At the bottom of this email you will find a link to a PayPal donation site where you can use your credit or debit card to make a contribution of any size. Please take a moment and consider what you, if anything, can contribute to my ACL surgery. I have all ready incurred approximately $1,000 of cost for an MRI and pre-op appointments. I have attempted to finance this surgery with no success and am running out of time and options for recovery.
If you cannot contribute, I know your thoughts will still be with me. Please forward this email to anyone you think may be able to help in any way. I will keep you all updated on my progress.
Thank you,
Brian Perez
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