Assist Pedro with Medical Care

My dear friend, Pedro Hipolito, was awarded a pipeline repair job on Endicott Island in Alaska in May 2019. This was to be a project lasting 5-6 months. He made all arrangements and assembled a team of around 12 men to assist. Although he was supervising the project he is also an underwater welder.

Accident
On September 18^th, he was underwater welding and his equipment shorted out electrocuting him and eventually causing him to drown. After some time he was rescued by emergency personnel. Up until that time I spoke and texted with him several times a day. After three days with no contact I was beginning to panic and I contacted his only family member, his 19 year old niece, Carol. In a panic I found a phone number for the island and Carol called and found out of Pedro's accident and he had been unconscious for three days. She was told he would contact one of us when he woke up. I don't believe he has actually told me or his niece the entire details of his injuries because he does not want anyone to worry, but he finally told me he had a stroke as a result of the accident. At the beginning of this project he was a healthy 45 year old man who is a very caring man who has worked very hard his entire life. He takes care of his niece and aunt financially and raised his niece since his sister passed during childbirth 19 years ago. I believe he is very fortunate he was healthy because he likely wouldn't have survived the accident otherwise. From what he tells me he has limited use of his arms and hands and has stood up with assistance, but can't walk yet.

The facilities on Endicott Island are for minor injuries and accidents and they do not have the resources to help him heal and be able to return home. He had a surgeon from a nearby hospital come to the island to perform surgery to open his blocked arteries. This surgeon had to bring all the equipment with him as the resources on the island were not significant for the surgery. He now needs additional meds and rehab that he cannot get on the island. The other issue is that he is on the island so he will need to take a boat or helicopter to get to an ambulance or hospital. He would rather go home to Atlanta, Georgia to see his own medical staff but at this point he needs to at least be transferred to a local hospital for better care. The cost of an air ambulance is around $40,000 and at this point not a viable option.

Murphy's Law
This ordeal has gone on for five months and if something could go wrong – it has. His drilling machine broke and he had to ask everyone he knows for funds to help keep it working. The vendor took the machine until the funds could be obtained delaying the project even more. Pedro has funds to take care of all of these issues. When he arrived in Alaska and determined that out in the middle of the ocean he did not have good internet access. Because of that he asked me to logon to his investment account to order and pay for the materials they needed for the project. I was able to logon and order and pay for the materials ($500K). Once the materials arrived in Alaska he was required to pay customs for the fees ($77K). I logged in a second time to pay customs and was able to make the payment from Pedro's account. At that time Pedro asked me to check his account balance and since I had already logged off he asked me to log back into his account. I attempted to but I somehow messed up the password on his investment account and the account became locked. The transfer to customs was stopped because the investment company believed his account may have been hacked. He spoke to them and they advised he would have to come to Atlanta to verify his account with his thumb print and identification. This is not just an ordinary bank account. It is an offshore account and prior to the project he transferred all of his funds to that account so they would be available for everything he needed. Because the project was to go until September/October and he was the supervisor of the project - he could not go home to fix the account. To this day it is still locked. He has been able to obtain funds from family and friends to keep the project going (over $100,000) but now he needs it for his care. Family and friends have given everything they have to help him. They, as well as I are feeling very helpless. But now there are no more funds available until he is able to return to Atlanta and verify his account. He is just caught in a catch 22. He needs to go home to access his money, but he can't get home because he doesn't have the money available to get there. This is a very bad situation and he just needs a hand up to get back on his feet. He has the funds to repay anyone who can assist – it’s just a matter of time before he can heal, return home and make that happen.

What is Needed
I'm not really even sure what is the best option of Pedro - I've have contacted many different agencies that fly people for medical reasons but because he does not have $50000, he cannot get a plane home. And he is not well enough to fly on a commercial airplane and would require a stretcher. No one is willing to help without upfront payment. The second option would be to have a medical helicopter pick him up from the island and take him to a nearby hospital. I'm unsure how much this will cost, but I'm still attempting to figure it out.

Pedro is a very giving man. He has helped so many people in his life. He's a really good man and things have just gone so wrong for him. He just needs better care he can't get where he is and he is just so weak. He is very weak and becoming even more discouraged as things seem to be working against him. Any consideration you can give would be very much appreciated. I am happy to answer any questions you have. Please consider helping Pedro.

Pedros' friend,
LeAnn Shirley