My loves battle w/brain disease
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First let me say that there is nothing wrong with humbling yourself to ask for help. I use to be so prideful until the Lord humbled me many times over. I have seen many ppl talk negatively about GOFUNDME accounts, but I have also supported many ppl who were in need and created one. A few years back I myself needed medical help & God sent that help for me from so many amazing ppl. My pride stopped many blessings, but I learned so much from that. It's hard to see or believe that once again we have to ask for help BUT after my experience I realized there is no shame in asking. So, I humbly come to you reading this post & ask for help regarding my husband, Jose. You should be able to find all of your questions answered in this post and on the video we attached above.
When we originally sat down to discuss starting a GoFundMe campaign, the goal was to raise enough money to fly our family to NY to see a doctor at the Weill's Cornell Brain & Spine Institute. But, the circumstances changed after my husband began having vision issues while driving with my two boys in the car and crashed our car. The day after the accident Jose was still very dizzy, nauseated and was in a great deal of pain in his head. He could not lift his hands, move his neck or keep his eyes opened. I rushed Jose to the nearest hospital. After two hours in the ER and two tests later they admitted him right away. After a lumbar puncture during his stay at the hospital it was clear that his ICP (Intracranial Pressure) was extremely high causing pressure on his optic nerve and causing other severe symptoms. They recommened being transferred to a facility that could better care for his needs because he needed to see a Neuro ophthalmologist and this hospital did not specialize in neurosurgery or the severity of his condition. Their concern was him going blind due to the pressure pressing on his optic nerve and many other complications. Due to Severe Neuropathy throughout most of his body, the doctor prepared us for what is to come (him loosing control of his motor skills in the legs and much more). When Jose was first diagnosed with ACM w/ Syringomyelia, they did inform us that there was no cure for this disease and that it would indeed progress in time causing possible paralysis and other major issues. The Decompressive Craniectomy that Jose had back in 2005 was not a cure. It was a way to attempt to alleviate pressure on the brain, causing symptoms to slow down or possibly stop. That surgery did not help at all and made things so much worse in our opinion. After we realized that Jose would not make it to the Weill Cornell Insitute in NY, we decided to reach out to everyone who had already made a donation asking them if we could use the money for his medical bills while in the hospital.
Let me give a brief explanation with that. Jose is a US Disabled Veteran who is intended to get all of his care from the VA hospital. They pay for everything that is service connected. Jose is NOT service connected for ACM (they say because it is a congenital disease he is not covered). He is only rated for Syringomyelia in the spine. He is also NOT rated 100% with the VA. We have been fighting for that since 2003. While his disease was diagnosed while on active duty after an accident he had while on active duty, they still only rated him for the spine damage and not his actual brain disease. So the VA only covers service connected disability.
My husband dedicated his life to the US Airforce. His accident and disease are the reason he was discharged with a disability. That is no reason to neglect him now, but like MANY US Vets, he was not getting the help he needed to treat his disease which led to YEARS of neglect. The VA totally missed the high ICP and fluid in the brain. But, the hospital he was admitted into kept him for almost a month. Many tests, many prodecures and of course hospital care. All NOT covered by the VA. So we had to really pray & humble ourselves to ask for help by raising the GoFundMe goal in the hopes that it will help with medical expenses ( I added a photo of just one of the bills we have received for his care in the update section on this site.)
On top of medical expenses, Jose also totalled my car when he crashed it and sadly we did not have collision insurance, so that is another expense.
Due to his illness progressing for the worst, he is no longer working. Seeing how he was the sole provider in our home, that in itself is another hardship with three children.
Anyone who gives to this campaign will be helping with medical expenses from his previous hospital stay (in Feb and March). You will also be helping with immediate needs because Joey in no longer working due to the rapid progression with his illness. We are not ashamed to lower our heads to ask for your help. Instead, we are so grateful to each and every person who selflessly gives & supports during this hardship we are facing. The goal was raised after we found out Jose would no longer be working.
I myself have a YouTube channel & I will be working very hard to build my channel in the hopes that the Lord will open doors for it to help us financially. Now that Joey is unable to work, we also started a second channel just for family VLOGS, challenges, updates on his health & much more. Once again, we hope that putting hard work into both channels will be a means to bringing in some financial help for our family.
Once again, this GoFundMe account is to help our family during this hardship with medical expenses, immediate needs and to possibly help us fix the only means of transportation we have that fits our family. If you are not comfortable giving, then we ask that you just pray for us. If you cannot give, we ask that you please share the campaign so that those who see and can give, will do so. If all you can give is $5 that would be a HUGE blessing for us & would help in more ways than you could possibly ever know.
We love you and we are forever indepted to everyone who donates. Thank you.
We also thank you for respecting our privacy. We will share as much of this journey as we can with you on AND Dinah Reviews is my main channel - be sure to subscribe), Snapchat (Dboogzzz), IG (Dinahmusic) & FB. Follow us to stay connected & I will update this gofundme every chance that I get.
Once again, THANK YOU!
You are such a HUGE blessing to us.
When we originally sat down to discuss starting a GoFundMe campaign, the goal was to raise enough money to fly our family to NY to see a doctor at the Weill's Cornell Brain & Spine Institute. But, the circumstances changed after my husband began having vision issues while driving with my two boys in the car and crashed our car. The day after the accident Jose was still very dizzy, nauseated and was in a great deal of pain in his head. He could not lift his hands, move his neck or keep his eyes opened. I rushed Jose to the nearest hospital. After two hours in the ER and two tests later they admitted him right away. After a lumbar puncture during his stay at the hospital it was clear that his ICP (Intracranial Pressure) was extremely high causing pressure on his optic nerve and causing other severe symptoms. They recommened being transferred to a facility that could better care for his needs because he needed to see a Neuro ophthalmologist and this hospital did not specialize in neurosurgery or the severity of his condition. Their concern was him going blind due to the pressure pressing on his optic nerve and many other complications. Due to Severe Neuropathy throughout most of his body, the doctor prepared us for what is to come (him loosing control of his motor skills in the legs and much more). When Jose was first diagnosed with ACM w/ Syringomyelia, they did inform us that there was no cure for this disease and that it would indeed progress in time causing possible paralysis and other major issues. The Decompressive Craniectomy that Jose had back in 2005 was not a cure. It was a way to attempt to alleviate pressure on the brain, causing symptoms to slow down or possibly stop. That surgery did not help at all and made things so much worse in our opinion. After we realized that Jose would not make it to the Weill Cornell Insitute in NY, we decided to reach out to everyone who had already made a donation asking them if we could use the money for his medical bills while in the hospital.
Let me give a brief explanation with that. Jose is a US Disabled Veteran who is intended to get all of his care from the VA hospital. They pay for everything that is service connected. Jose is NOT service connected for ACM (they say because it is a congenital disease he is not covered). He is only rated for Syringomyelia in the spine. He is also NOT rated 100% with the VA. We have been fighting for that since 2003. While his disease was diagnosed while on active duty after an accident he had while on active duty, they still only rated him for the spine damage and not his actual brain disease. So the VA only covers service connected disability.
My husband dedicated his life to the US Airforce. His accident and disease are the reason he was discharged with a disability. That is no reason to neglect him now, but like MANY US Vets, he was not getting the help he needed to treat his disease which led to YEARS of neglect. The VA totally missed the high ICP and fluid in the brain. But, the hospital he was admitted into kept him for almost a month. Many tests, many prodecures and of course hospital care. All NOT covered by the VA. So we had to really pray & humble ourselves to ask for help by raising the GoFundMe goal in the hopes that it will help with medical expenses ( I added a photo of just one of the bills we have received for his care in the update section on this site.)
On top of medical expenses, Jose also totalled my car when he crashed it and sadly we did not have collision insurance, so that is another expense.
Due to his illness progressing for the worst, he is no longer working. Seeing how he was the sole provider in our home, that in itself is another hardship with three children.
Anyone who gives to this campaign will be helping with medical expenses from his previous hospital stay (in Feb and March). You will also be helping with immediate needs because Joey in no longer working due to the rapid progression with his illness. We are not ashamed to lower our heads to ask for your help. Instead, we are so grateful to each and every person who selflessly gives & supports during this hardship we are facing. The goal was raised after we found out Jose would no longer be working.
I myself have a YouTube channel & I will be working very hard to build my channel in the hopes that the Lord will open doors for it to help us financially. Now that Joey is unable to work, we also started a second channel just for family VLOGS, challenges, updates on his health & much more. Once again, we hope that putting hard work into both channels will be a means to bringing in some financial help for our family.
Once again, this GoFundMe account is to help our family during this hardship with medical expenses, immediate needs and to possibly help us fix the only means of transportation we have that fits our family. If you are not comfortable giving, then we ask that you just pray for us. If you cannot give, we ask that you please share the campaign so that those who see and can give, will do so. If all you can give is $5 that would be a HUGE blessing for us & would help in more ways than you could possibly ever know.
We love you and we are forever indepted to everyone who donates. Thank you.
We also thank you for respecting our privacy. We will share as much of this journey as we can with you on AND Dinah Reviews is my main channel - be sure to subscribe), Snapchat (Dboogzzz), IG (Dinahmusic) & FB. Follow us to stay connected & I will update this gofundme every chance that I get.
Once again, THANK YOU!
You are such a HUGE blessing to us.
Organizer
Dinah Vega-Gomez
Organizer
Wesley Chapel, FL
