Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
A GoFundMe has been set up to cover medical expenses for a local fisherman injured on a commercial shipping boat in Alaska.
Shaun Roche is a local urchin diver who lives in Santa Barbara with his wife Tricia and their young son Teddy. He also works as a commercial salmon fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
According to the fundraising page, it was the final hours of the 2023 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon season and Shaun was spray-painting the engine of his boat, the F/V Sun Wing. A spark of unknown origin ignited the accumulated fumes in the room causing severe burns to Shaun’s body.
He was medevaced out of Naknek and taken to Anchorage, where he was determined to have sustained third degree burns on 16% of his body, namely his hands, arms and back.
Shaun underwent two surgeries for skin grafting and while he’s stable and the outlook for recovery is positive, there is no determined date for his return home to Santa Barbara.
“There will be some hang time before Shaun is able to regain the use of his hands, with rehab to follow, and while the sum total of medical expenses are as yet unknown, we can safely assume they won’t be small,” the fundraising page states. “Shaun will be unable to work for the foreseeable future. On the heels of one of the worst price/lb in the history of Bristol Bay fishery, with urchin season in Santa Barbara on the horizon, we ask that you help the Roche family as they navigate this difficult time, and allow for full-spectrum healing.”
Donations can be made to the Roche family here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-roche-family
The fundraising looks more like it is needed for living expenses.
One of worst price/lb in Bristol Bay history.
Shaun Roche will miss urchin season
His return to work is unforeseeable, so they are going to need at least a year of living expenses
In addition, it is always expensive to be medevaced and hopefully he had medevac insurance (its about $500 per year). The other expenses would be family flights to and from Alaska, they probably will need to charter Shaun Roche down to Sherman Oaks burn center. Hopefully he also had disability insurance because a lot of us self employed people do not qualify for government benefits.
I pay for my own disability, and medical insurances. (I’d rather buy my own, get the type of coverage I want, than pay higher taxes)
The cost to be medically evacuated by air can cost up to $30,000 and you betcha insurance companies aren’t clamoring to pay for it. Having medical insurance alone, is not enough.
If he made no money, didn’t work, and lived off others he’d have taxpayer-funded healthcare and wouldn’t need a GoFundMe effort. THAT’s the travesty.
This is one of the most ignorant posts I’ve seen you make here, and that’s saying a lot. You do realize that if all Americans didn’t have to worry about paying for healthcare, you’d be better off too right? This will not negatively affect you.
As a “real doctor,” I’d think your foremost concern would be people’s health, not how they pay for it.
And seriously dude? It’s a “travesty” that people who have no money can still get healthcare? Wow……. you really should not be a doctor. THAT’s the travesty.
Basic with a despicable comment while contributing $0 to the GoFundMe. Golf clap.
3:03 –
Since his worldview doesn’t seem to be fact based, he’s more likely something like a chiropractor.
Hey, 6:24 PM, no need to slam chiropractors because one internet commenter makes an objectionable statement.
The whole basis behind chiropractry is nonsense. Not that they don’t help some people, but it is more by accident than anything else.
A guy like this who works hard for a family deserves better, and that’s my point. What’s wrong with stating that? I guess you’re not understanding the nuances of basic economics and how the healthcare industry and insurance companies work.
LOL oh give it a rest, you made your point loud and clear and that wasn’t it. Your comment had nothing to do about “nuances of basic economics.” We all can read plain and clear what “your point” was, Dr. Backpedal.
No backpedaling at all. One or two commenters here appear to live in a non-reality state of mind, make up weird interpretations of others’ comments, and don’t realize that here’s a guy who worked hard and doesn’t have adequate care due to a system where more resources are given to those who contribute nothing to society. It’s just a hard fact. Easy to play the ‘good guy’ for some. Get real.
So, what are you upset about? That he doesn’t get free healthcare or that people who don’t have a job do get free healthcare? Who is stopping everyone from getting universal healthcare? Ask yourself that.
I didn’t say not to contribute, or that I would not help. I am self employed and carry a lot of insurance and am hopeful the Roche family did the same. Medevac insurance is worth every penny. So is your own medical and disability if you are self employed. If you are self employed, no insurances, you get hurt on the job, you are completely out of luck
Agree.
Agree with what? The article? Your comment is untethered.
Done. Hey, it’s way more satisfying to donate some $ to help this family than bitch about politics… Give it a try!
It is an absolute travesty that as a country, we must fundraise for our own medical expenses. No other developed country has an issue as extreme as America. We should not worry that if an accident happens, our family will go hungry and we may lose our home. It’s disgusting.