Everyone who knows Dean and Michel Bennett admire their giving spirit.
Dean is the guy out every morning before school begins setting up the track for Running Club. He’s the PTA dad leading fundraising events or coaching a basketball or soccer team. Michel’s helping the Boy Scouts earn a badge or walking groups of students to school to teach them about healthy living.
But now Dean, Michel, Bobby and Bradley need OUR help.
Starting last spring, Dean began having trouble breathing. The doctor put him on oxygen and antibiotics, but that didn’t work, so he went in for a test to determine what kind of infection was in his lungs. That’s when everything fell apart. On June 6, 2019, Dean was life-flighted by a team of ECMO physicians from Little Company of Mary to the UCLA Cardiothoracic ICU (CTICU). They placed him on ECMO – extracorporeal life support (ECLS) – which is a type of treatment used for patients with life-threatening heart/lung problems. He was on a ventilator and completely sedated for several weeks; developed secondary infections; had intense blood pressure fluctuations; contracted pneumonia and required continual dialysis, among other things.
Although the most critical period of Dean’s battle with Acute Respiratory Distress (ARD) has passed, he is still in the CTICU and will have a long, difficult and expensive road to recovery and weeks if not months in a rehab facility.
To add fuel to the fire, Michel was suddenly and unexpectedly laid off from her job in April. She has had to take time off from job hunting in order to be with Dean and maintain stability in the boys’ lives.
With 55 days in the CTICU and counting, Dean’s medical bills are already overwhelming. And, even though they are have COBRA, insurance is not covering many of the life-saving treatments he received, not to mention the expense of the full insurance premiums required because of her unemployment.
So many have asked what they can do for Dean, Michel and the boys, and you have already been unbelievably generous with prayers, rides and meals. Though it’s extremely humbling for them to accept your help (or even allow me to ask), what the Bennett Family truly needs now is help with extensive medical expenses not covered by insurance. All funds will go DIRECTLY to the family.
Dean and Michel have helped countless kids and families. Now it’s time for all of us to help Dean and Michel. No amount is too small. Your help is truly appreciated. God Bless and THANK YOU!
