Lincoln Park father may never walk or talk after nearly dying from asthma attack

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    Chad Blackburn collapsed and nearly died after he suffered an asthma attack on Nov. 26.
    
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    His father says the nearby urgent care turned him away because he didn’t have active insurance or $100 to pay for services.
    
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    He’s being moved to a rehab facility but his family doesn’t know what the future holds.
    

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  Chad Blackburn collapsed and nearly died after he suffered an asthma attack on Nov. 26.
  
• 
  His father says the nearby urgent care turned him away because he didn’t have active insurance or $100 to pay for services.
  
• 
  He’s being moved to a rehab facility but his family doesn’t know what the future holds.
  

FOX 2, Lincoln Park, Mich.After almost dying from an asthma attack, a parent in Lincoln Park is in need of assistance. Although he has been in the hospital for the last three weeks, it is unclear how he will recover.

On November 26, Dean Blackburn had an asthma attack when he was with his son Chad.

“He’s at home (and) he says dad I think I need to go to the hospital and he’s basically turning blue,” Dean explained. “I think I’m going to die,” he says. His heart stopped when I responded, “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

Dean began CPR on his 34-year-old son right away.

“I started doing chest compressions on him and called 911,” he stated. “They worked on him for 20 plus minutes.”

After being taken to Oakwood Hospital, Chad was sedated and intubated. Since then, he has remained there.

He lost his fine motor skills and sustained brain damage. The father, who works as a carpenter, is unable to move his arms, walk, or speak.

What happened to Chad Blackburn?

According to Dean, his son was unable to breathe and went to a neighboring urgent care center before collapsing, but he was turned away.

“I believe he had a minor lung infection, which is why his nebulizer and inhaler were not functioning. Dean explained, “He came up here to the urgent care clinic to get help.” “They said your insurance is inactive, so we can’t treat you unless you have a $100.”

Dean claims that because Chad lacked the money, he went home and tried another unsuccessful nebulizer treatment.

“They could have made all the difference in the world if they would have just checked his oxygen level or dialed 911 for him,” Dean stated.

An urgent care center doctor tells FOX 2 that they have procedures in place to help anyone in need, regardless of their financial situation. The emergency room is investigating the incident.

What’s next?

Dean says Chad is being moved from the hospital to a rehab facility where, hopefully, they will be able to teach him to walk and talk again. However, experts are unsure of the extent of his recovery.

“We’re carpenters, so we can build a ramp if we need one, but we don’t know what the future holds at this point – it’s kind of scary,” Dean stated.

How you can help

To assist with Chad’s costs, the family created a GoFundMe page.

“If we can avoid it, we prefer not to seek for assistance. “I’m at a loss for what to do,” Dean stated.

You can help Chad Blackburn and .

The Source:FOX 2’s Amy Lange spoke to Dean Blackburn and a Lincoln Park urgent care doctor for details on this story.

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