Superstar Billy Graham is going through some major health issues and needs help from the fans to get a total hip revision. Graham, who has already been using on crutches for the past year, will be unable to walk at all if he can’t get the operation done. While he has health insurance, it will only cover close to 75% of the cost.
His GoFundMe page reads:
My orthopedic doctor, Mark Spangehl at the Mayo Clinic Hospital here in Phoenix, is one out of only a handful of orthopedic surgeons in the world qualified to perform this 5 hour long, highly complex and sophisticated surgery. It must be done with computer-like accuracy. And making this surgery even more outlandishly difficult is the fact that Dr. Spangehl will have to do a bone graft on the area that is wearing a hole in my pelvis. He will use a metal plate to screw the bone to my hip. This is a very serious situation indeed.
Now folks, I have now been on crutches going on a year and a half in order to keep body weight off of my left hip. Apart from all the extreme pain, the inconveniences and severe restrictions to my lifestyle, what depresses me more than I can say is the fact that this disastrous injury has kept me from going to wrestling meet-and-greet fan conventions. Believe me, taking photos and signing autographs for all of my fans around this country really raises my morale and being prevented from attending now is a huge blow to me. You might recall how I was unable to make it to Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando, where my good friend Mick Foley took my place.
Well, everyone, those of you old enough to remember will know that in my day pro wrestlers (even those blessed with plenty of charisma) rarely retired as millionaires and there were no health care plans to support us. To entertain the good people of America and beyond we wore our bodies out and often ruined our family lives as well. Then in retirement we faced our fiercest opponent: medical bills from endless necessary surgeries and expensive meds. So it may not surprise you that today I am in the unfortunate position of needing financial help just to keep my body moving. The Mayo Clinic has told me that this complex surgery will cost something well over $100,000. I have Medicare that will pay approximately three quarters of this amount, but I will then still be responsible for tens of thousands more dollars.
So, folks, this is a do or die predicament for your friend Superstar Billy Graham. It is my judgement day, and my health is now in your hands, as I simply do not have the money. At this critical time I would be so grateful for a donation of any amount from my loyal fans. It will all add up and I will be made whole again by the grace of God. I realize that many of you have problems—some maybe even as serious as mine—but anything you can give will be deeply appreciated, and I pray that you will be richly blessed for helping a brother in need.
You can hear Graham talk about the issue below:
