To celebrate their son and his friend’s high school graduation, the Dervis family traveled with a group of 30 family friends to the Dominican Republic. Now, Greg Dervis and his wife, Bonnie, are stuck near Punta Cana after Greg had to undergo emergency brain surgery.
“I just want to know when I can get him home,” Bonnie Dervis, 47, told the Sun-Times tearfully. “Everyone’s telling us all of these medical things we need to do when he gets back, but how can I get him home? I know it would give him a sense of ease to be back at home in the United States.”
A few days into the trip, Greg Dervis began to feel unwell, his wife said. They went to a hospital in the city, where doctors performed a CAT scan and found a blood clot on the left side of his brain. The doctors told her the only option was surgery.
The couple’s son, 18-year-old Cole, and their 7-year-old daughter Morgan, returned home and are staying with family friends in Johnsburg, in McHenry County.
Bonnie Dervis said that although her husband was released from the intensive care unit Monday, he hasn’t been able to talk and likely does not understand his predicament.
Additionally, she is facing challenges getting his medical records from home to try to get him on a medical flight back to the United States.
It has also been frustrating trying to figure out if their insurance will cover the medical expenses or not. Bonnie Dervis said there was a $15,000 deposit for the surgery, and it cost $10,000 to get him admitted to the ICU, among other expenses.
She said that although she asked medical professionals at the health center when she’ll be able to take Greg home, she hasn’t heard anything definitive.
“I asked that question today so I could see if as soon as he’s stable enough if I can get a medical flight somewhere,” she said. “But they’re telling me, ‘Well, we don’t know. We all have to talk together.’ It’s kind of like I just keep getting the runaround. No one will give me the true answer here.”’
A GoFundMe was started to help the family with medical expenses by JD Sylvanus, who coached Cole in football and wrestling at Johnsburg High School. By Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $20,000.
However, Sylvanus said, the fundraiser will be pivoting to try to raise money for a medical flight home, which could cost the family around $60,000.
“Hearing about everything they’re going through, this is the easy part: us raising money and getting the word out.”
Bonnie Dervis said her husband woke up Saturday, his 56th birthday. “Unfortunately, it was right when he came out,” she said, in tears. “So he really didn’t recognize anything on his birthday.”
She said he’s been awake and recognizes her and is able to walk and say a few words. The couple have been married for 21 years and work together at a heating and air conditioning firm.
Greg Dervis is an avid golfer, loves the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the outdoors, his wife said. They live near the Fox River, she said, and they enjoy going out on the water and spending time on their boat.
“I’m usually not a very public person, but it’s not about me,” she said. “I just want him home.”