Noelle and Tony were high school sweethearts back in the 90s. As high school romances go, they lost contact, but that’s where their story becomes unique. After nearly 25 years of separation, they found each other through the power of the internet. Despite the years apart, they fell hard and fast in love and were ready to resume their story together. Tony sold his belongings, packed his cat into his car, and drove to Twin Falls, Idaho, to be with my sister. Noelle and Tony got married in a quiet courthouse ceremony this March 2024. Since then, Tony has become a fantastic stepdad to the boys and a supportive brother-in-law to Noelle’s siblings. Tony went in for a much-needed partial knee replacement on June 21st. Within four days of returning home, he started showing signs of a serious infection. Noelle took Tony to see the orthopedic surgeon who confirmed the implant was infected, and Tony was immediately admitted into the hospital, and taken into emergency surgery. During the emergency surgery, they removed, cleaned, and reinserted the implant, and closed the wound. After extensive lab work, it was determined that Tony has a bone infection and is going to need care for at least a week in the hospital, as well as six weeks of antibiotic infusions, three times daily. In the middle of all this, we discovered that Tony is diabetic and his blood sugar was dangerously high. Doctors started him on insulin treatment right away, and have been fighting to get his blood sugar into a safe zone. In the midst of recovering from a second surgery and his bone infection, Tony now has to learn about how to control his diabetes and make serious lifestyle changes. To recover from his knee replacement and gain full mobility, Tony will require extensive physical therapy. Unfortunately, we have learned that the insurance will not pay for his physical therapy or his home therapy equipment, expected to cost $3,600 out of pocket. To compound these problems, Tony’s work was willing to give him six weeks of recovery time, but with these compounding health problems, he is liable to lose his job and his health insurance. For the antibiotic infusions, insurance will only cover 50%, leaving $4,500 out of pocket. Tony and Noelle will have to hire an at-home nurse to assist with the three times daily infusions, in order to avoid staying in Gooding for the duration of his treatment. Combined with the $6,000 for the original surgery, this has completely wiped out their savings. These health crises could have happened to anyone, and Tony and Noelle are unlucky enough to have all three happen at once, only four months after they got married. Thank you for any donations to help my sister and new brother-in-law with these unexpected costs, as they start building their long-awaited future together. Thank you again for your support as we get Tony back to full health and mobility. Much love, The Dankoff, van Erp, Wagner, and Ferrara Family
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