A crew member needs your help....

A crew member needs your help!

In the spirit of the holidays, please donate to this crew member who is recovering from a spinal chord injury: Donate to Gede

Here is his story:


On October 18, 2012 Gede (good-day), a 32 year old man from a small village in central Bali, was unable to get up from his bunk bed on Carnival Cruise Lines where he is employed. 3 days later he was sent to shore to a hospital in Nassau, Bahamas for an x-ray. The next day he was sent to another hospital in Nassau for an MRI. Then 2 days later he was airlifted from Nassau to Fort Lauderdale's Broward Medical once it was discovered that there was a hematoma in the area of the C4 and C5 vertebrate (neck area). Surgery would be needed to identify what the hematoma was.

On October 29th Gede had spinal cord surgery by Dr. Christopher 'Chad' Roberts, and the biopsy of the hematoma came back identified as a blood clot. Gede remained at Broward Medical for a week, and was then transported to North Broward Medical Center for rehabilitation therapy. Today Gede remains positive and has all of his senses, but his motor skills and strength are still evolving. Currently, he needs assistance to get into a wheelchair. We are now at week 3 post surgery, and shortly Gede will be flow to Indonesia for the rest of his hospital based rehabilitation therapy and then on home to Bali for any outpatient care needed over the next year or so.

Financially, Gede's immediate medical needs have been covered by Carnival Cruise Lines, but they will not cover many of non-medical costs, of travel for his family to visit him in Java (the most likely location for his hospital based rehabilitation therapy), for a car to take him to outpatient therapy, gas, home modifications, internet access, and some home care assistance. The sum for a car in Bali is high, but the many daily items needed are much cheaper than in the states. I estimate that Gede will need around $50,000 US during this transition time.

Gede was the primary wage earner for his family, which consists of his mother, his father who is retired, and his two young sons age 7 & 10. His life has dramatically changed, but without his income from Carnival his basic daily needs will change even more for him and his family.

Gede positive attitude and Balinese spirit continues to improve with his physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OP), and group therapy. The team at Broward Medical has been amazing and Gede has made and effort to memorize the names of every employee who he has met and I know he appreciates all they are doing for him.