Trevor Stelmack is in desperate need of surgery in Germany to bring normalcy back into his life and the lives of his family, but to do so, his family needs to raise a large amount of money.
Stelmack has three crushed vertebrae in his neck and requires disc replacement surgery due to an accident that took place in his home in August of 2020.
Initially, they thought his symptoms were all concussion-related, as he did suffer a severe concussion, but as time went on and more investigation was done, it was revealed that he also crushed his neck during the injury.
His condition cannot improve without surgery, and until then it will continue to progressively get worse.
He has been offered a surgery date of January 17th, 2024, however, this is on the condition that they have all the money in place by January 2nd.
Trevor’s wife, Rebekah, says they need $80,000 in total.
“It's a very tall order to come up with this large sum of money in that amount of time. If we're able to successfully get the money by then, he can have the surgery next month. If we're not able to, we'll have to just push the date and keep our efforts at getting the money together.”
The surgery itself comes out to $76,000, and the extra 4000 is to cover the costs of flights and hotel expenses for Trevor and Rebekah.
So far, they have raised just over $10,000.
Before the accident, Trevor was a business owner in Steinbach and the sole provider for his family of six.
Since then, he has not been able to work, and Rebekah has been working two to three jobs at a time to support their family. Their children are ages 11, 13, 16, and 18.
Rebekah says it has been an extremely challenging three and a half years for her family.
“This is hard on everyone, including the children, and trying to keep as much normal for them as possible is really important when a parent is no longer able to show up in the ways that they once did. So we have been managing, but to say it's been difficult would be an understatement.”
Trevor's crushed vertebrae are putting pressure on his spinal cord and causing the blood flow to be compromised, which is causing additional symptoms.
“So this isn't just a physical, 'my neck hurts.' Trevor has balance issues, light sensitivity, Vertigo, noise is an issue... so because the blood is not able to flow to the brain properly, it's causing an array of other symptoms that you wouldn't normally see with just a broken bone.”
She says Trevor has good days where he can do some normal things, but most days his activities are very limited.
“He can on occasion visit with friends and drive during the day, he can never drive at night, but most of his days are very limited to what he can handle. He does spend a lot of time at home, that has changed our lives in the way of how much participation he can have with even the kid's activities,” she says. “He does have some good days where he can be out and you might see him and he might look relatively normal. And then that day might be the end of that good run for him, and he might be in the basement for the next two weeks.”
She emphasizes the importance of getting this surgery.
“This surgery is an opportunity to return to life. Not just for him, but for our whole family.”
Recovery will take four to six months, and he will need to be in rehab in Germany for the first week after he is discharged from the hospital. Then once he comes home, he will be in physiotherapy for six months.
The best way to donate towards Trevor’s surgery is through their GoFundMe page.
They are also accepting e-transfers and are grateful for words of encouragement for the family.
For those wishing to e-transfer, ask questions, or give in another way, contact Rebekah at 204-381-0994 or rebekahstelmack@hotmail.com.
Rebekah says they are grateful for every donation, prayer, and share that the campaign is getting.
“We've had some of our children's friends, minimum-wage part-time workers donating their money to the campaign. And it's so heartwarming that people just want to help,” she says. “It's not about the dollar amount, we just really feel that sense of community and we are so appreciative for each and every person that is able to give, share, or send words of encouragement for our family. Every single one is truly appreciated.”
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