Jose continues to recover from the spinal fusion surgery and now has some feeling in both arms. Jose has also been excepted into a Spinal Hospital in Chicago and needs to get there in the next few days.
It will cost $82k to get him to the hospital. Due to Dave Ezzy and others, they have raised $77k. I figure if 500 folks read this and can spare $10 each they can make a difference.
The full story and more updates from Dave are on the link
gofund.me/c925ce48
Here is the link, in another format. They have raised $81,630 as of just now, and need $81,900 for a medical flight, so almost there!
www.gofundme.com/f/jose-is-paralyzed-from-windsurfing-accident?qid=9f7dc6f89671f810eda2328e94af6c72
So I had asked in the original post by Hess if Jose was wearing a helmet, but no one responded. After that, for a few days they had a picture of Jose windfoiling on the Gofundme page, he was not wearing a helmet in that picture, and it has since been removed.
I always wear a whitewater approved helmet when windfoiling. Someone on the beach once asked me why I wear a helmet, I said, "because the mast is harder than my head". Now I have another reason to tell someone why I wear a helmet.
Because Sandman the past thread(s) shouldn't be anything other than saying "I've donated" because whatever happened or however it happened is for another day..end of!
Select to expand quoteCoreAS said..
Because Sandman the past thread(s) shouldn't be anything other than saying "I've donated" because whatever happened or however it happened is for another day..end of!
I think a lot of people can learn from this if they know what happened.
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..I think a lot of people can learn from this if they know what happened.
Maybe, but there's a time and place...
They have have raised over $87k, need $82k for medical flight, so he should be on his way soon to a specialized treatment facility in Chicago. Best of luck and care in recovering Jose.
update: the 90k funding goal was just passed!
Way to go Foiling Family!! As Sandman mentioned the $90k goal has been reached. Thanks to everyone who chipped in during these tight economic times!!
Having gotten to know Jose a little over the last few years, I know he is going to give it his all to pull off a full recovery.
Can't say enough about how much effort Dave has put into helping Jose and using his platform for good. Just speaks to the kind of guy he is. Although he would be the first to say it takes a village to make things like this happen.
Hey Hess, has Jose been flown to Chicago for treatment? Last update on Gofundme page was Aug. 31 and said he was ready to fly and needed to get to Chicago ASAP, that was 4 days ago. See the Gofundme goal has increased from $75k, to $90k, and now is at $105k, guessing his insurance is not covering all of his current bills?
Dave Ezzy Posted and Update about Jose
Sounds like its been a struggle, as I can only imagine, but Jose is regaining some feel in arms, legs, spine. And is now on the mainland receiving treatment. This would not have been possible without all the generous donations from people all around the world.
As suspected it is going to be a long, difficult and costly journey but I know Jose will be up for it. Hopefully this link will allow you to read the complete update from David.
www.gofundme.com/f/jose-is-paralyzed-from-windsurfing-accident?viewupdates=1&rcid=r01-166191882316-7987dbf628e211ed&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2B1137-update-supporters-v5b
Thank you for the update Hess, yeah, it is a long tough road to recovery for Jose. And I agree with David, our medical system is costly, especially when it comes to longterm care like Jose is facing. Hopefully, they get any husband/wife joint assets separated. To find Jose on Gofundme.com, I just search for "Jose windsurfer".
Now Every time I do a foiling gybe I first check the wind behind me before initiating the gybe to look for gusts stronger than the one I am in, and then during the gybe stay visually focused on the mast, that has actually helped a lot, versus looking where I am going (obviously checked path beforehand). New WSRI Trident helmet makes me feel safer too, it is built to take an impact. Hope everyone else out there is wearing a EN 1385 rated whitewater helmet.
But in regards to my new helmet, see my new post under general on new testing of whitewater helmets.
Jose's gofundme page has not been updated since Sept. 25th, 2022, anyone know how he is doing?
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..CoreAS said..
Because Sandman the past thread(s) shouldn't be anything other than saying "I've donated" because whatever happened or however it happened is for another day..end of!
I think a lot of people can learn from this if they know what happened.
It isn't clear to me how a helmet can protect against a spinal injury.
Select to expand quoteGasHazard said..Sandman1221 said..CoreAS said..
Because Sandman the past thread(s) shouldn't be anything other than saying "I've donated" because whatever happened or however it happened is for another day..end of!
I think a lot of people can learn from this if they know what happened.
It isn't clear to me how a helmet can protect against a spinal injury.
Clear as mud, helmet will protect to some degree from head injury... best way I have found is don't Crash 
That said if foiling in over 15 knots or chance's of doing over 35 on fin I will wear helmet
Select to expand quoteGasHazard said..Sandman1221 said..CoreAS said..
Because Sandman the past thread(s) shouldn't be anything other than saying "I've donated" because whatever happened or however it happened is for another day..end of!
I think a lot of people can learn from this if they know what happened.
It isn't clear to me how a helmet can protect against a spinal injury.
A properly designed helmet absorbs energy from an impact on the head, and so "can" lessen the amount of energy transmitted to the spinal column so that a vertebrae does not get crushed.
Jose's gofundme page has not been updated since Sept. 25th, 2022, anyone know how he is doing?
Select to expand quoteDavid provided this update, sounds like it's been difficult for Jose.
David was at the beach for the first time in 8 months and its was great to see him back on the water. The amount of support David has provided just goes to show the kind of person David is.
Today by David Ezzy, Organizer
It has been 8 months since Jose's accident and I have some encouraging news to report!
First, I want to thank you for your generous donations. Your donations have paid for all of Jose's medical expenses and transport. Jose is incredibly touched by your outpouring of support for him.
1) Since my last update:
- Jose is still paralyzed from the shoulders down.
- He has regained a bit of movement in his left hand, as well as some feeling in both arms and his abdomen.
- He is completely off the ventilator, breathing on his own and has no problem speaking.
- Jose developed bedsores that went untreated at the first Tucson hospital where he went to be weaned off of the ventilator.
- The bedsores progressed to stage 4, which means they had tunneled to the bone.
- The sores got infected.
- He had many surgeries, removing infected tissue and bone.
- Jose was in 4 different hospitals in Tucson to recover from the bedsores.
- With the focus directed at healing his bedsores, Jose did not receive any rehab for his spinal injury.
- Two months ago, a doctor told Jose that he would never be able to eat solid food. This was because the plate that was used to fuse c4 to c5 vertebrae was impinging on his esophagus.
- Jose proved him wrong! He is now eating everything. His first real meal in 7 months was a chicken enchilada from a Mexican restaurant across the street from his hospital. After his first bite, Jose closed his eyes and was in total ecstasy.
- Through all of this and with the support of his loving daughter, Sirena, Jose maintains a positive attitude and looks forward to meeting his challenges head on.
- Despite the limitations from his injury, Jose shows incredible empathy for everyone he interacts with.
2) The Challenge of Getting Into Rehab:
- With the bedsores healing, we started applying to spinal rehab hospitals a month ago.
- We received rejection after rejection.
- Some saying the bedsores were not healed enough.
- Some saying his Medicare would not cover it.
- Some saying too much time had gone by since his injury.
- Some saying Jose did not fit their algorithm (whatever that means!)
- But, finally one hospital actually SAW Jose as a vibrant human in need of physical rehabilitation, and with a team of five people, went to bat for him. They had to convince their admissions department that Jose would be a good candidate for their hospital. And they did!
3) Jose is Now in Rehab!
- Jose was accepted into California Institute of Rehabilitation in LA.
- They are a joint venture with Cedars-Sinai and UCLA Health.
- He was medevaced from Tucson to LA on April 1, 2023.
4) Going Forward:
- Jose is currently being evaluated by the rehab team and it is not clear how long his stay will be.
- I will post updates on this Gofundme page throughout his time in rehab.
- Jose's plan after discharge is to come back to Maui.
Any contribution amount will help get Jose one one step closer to his goal of returning to Maui.
Thank you again for the generous support you have provided to Jose.
Sincerely,
David Ezzy
Thank you for the update Hess, glad to hear he is off the ventilator and can eat solid food. I had been checking regularly but not recently. Every time I go out foiling I try to keep in mind the potential dangers in foiling gybes, as well as boats and jet skis. Thanks to someone here (General forum) who pointed out boats have the right of way in marked channels, I cross one regularly and am very careful if there is a boat or jet ski in it.
