SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – A San Diego man is fighting to get his sick father in Mexico to the life-saving care he needs at the San Diego V.A. hospital.
Sean Whaley told News 8 his father has been living in Puerto Vallarta suffering from organ failure and a severe infection. It’s a situation Whaley called emotionally and financially draining. “He knows that it’s been really hard for me and that I have had to go to some extremes to save him.”
Whaley, who lives in Kensington, said he has used up his savings, he has borrowed money from his mom and work boss to pay for multiple surgeries for his father’s liver and kidney failure. He has even set up a GoFundMe page.
Whaley is currently in Puerto Vallarta at his father’s side. “This has been the hardest. He is non-responsive. He can’t talk. He is in a coma at this point.”
Whaley’s father, 69-year-old Randy Whaley, is an Air Force veteran who was wounded during the Vietnam War. He retired as an attorney and decided to take his retirement to the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta, last year.
When Randy took a fall, he collapsed with scratches on his face and his body, according to his son.
Whaley flew from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta during to be next to his father. According to him, the Mexican hospital wanted all the money upfront before admitting his father. “We get him to the hospital, and they tell me that I need to pay $12,000 or they cannot take him in,” said Whaley.
Whaley said his mother loaned him $1,000 and his boss at Inseev Interactive in Pacific Beach stepped up tremendously. “[He] loaned me $7,000 and bought me a plane ticket and said ‘don’t worry, just do what you got to do.’”
Randy, according to his son, has a severe infection through his entire right thigh.
Whaley has also asked Congresswoman Susan Davis’ office for help. “He was a hero and saved a lot of lives and did a lot of really hard things in Vietnam. He’s a really great guy. He is my dad. I love him.”
Whaley said that if he could just transport his father back to San Diego, the V.A. hospital would be able to help with treatment. A medical flight from Puerto Vallarta to San Diego can cost around $13,000.
Congresswoman Susan Davis’ office has offered some help and Whaley’s GoFundMe page is, “Save My Dad.”