Medical fund set up for Crestview man who suffered heart attack

CRESTVIEW — A medical fund has been set up to benefit a Crestview apartment complex maintenance man who suffered a heart attack.

The Joshua Duke Medical Fund was recently opened at the BBVA Compass Bank located at 728 North Ferdon Blvd. The fund will go towards the medical expenses for Brentwood Apartments maintenance man, Josh Duke.

On November 9, Duke suffered a massive heart attack that sent him into cardiac arrest. His wife and apartment manager, Halley O’Rourke, yelled for help and was aided by two apartment tenants.

Once paramedics arrived and were able to revive Duke, he spent two days unresponsive in the Sacred Heart intensive care unit. Duke eventually awoke and underwent a quintuple bypass. He was released on Nov. 21.

“He is doing much better,” O’Rourke said. “We have been going to physical therapy three times a week and his cardio thoracic surgeon is very pleased with his healing.”

Despite Duke’s recovery, the strain on the family has continued to grow, especially for the couple’s two children.

“It has been very stressful,” O’Rourke said. “I haven’t been able to work my full schedule. For the kids, they have had to step up and take care of some of the things around the house that Josh used to do. They miss afternoon football games and working with dad. It has been a major adjustment for my family.”

Since O’Rourke has had to limit her working schedule to help care for her recovering husband, the family’s finances have suffered.

“The cost of his therapy and the gas back and forth to Pensacola three times a week has hurt,” O’Rourke said. “Not to include the medical bills that are rolling in. We were able to provide a small Christmas but it was a struggle. Our regular bills haven’t stopped so to add to that all the extra expense, it’s been very hard.”

In order to help with the family’s finances, family friend Tina Crug set up the medical fund to try to relieve some of the family’s expenses.

“Tina has gone above and beyond to try to get us some help,” O’Rourke said. “It means the world to us how much this community has come together to support us any way they can. I’m hoping to be able to cover some of the cost of his appointments and medical bills.”

The fund will remain open until the family decides to close it.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Medical fund set up for Crestview man who suffered heart attack