Care for Cabell

I have been friends with Kassie and Cabell since my children were very young. Anyone whose children attended programs at the Jewish Community Center know them both as dynamic individuals who brought so much joy to our community. Cabell started working at the Simon Family JCC in 1997. During the 11 years he spent there, both he and his wife were intimately involved in activities that shaped the lives of all who came in contact with them. Kassie worked as a lifeguard, led shabbat programming, summer camp, as well as children and family programming. Cabell served as the Youth Sports director, managing  basketball and soccer teams for varying ages, in addition to leading four delegations to the Maccabi Games.

A mere 6 months after the birth of his daughter Karrigan, at the age of 30, Cabell was diagnosed with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, a degenerative neuromuscular disease which causes progressive muscle wasting affecting predominantly the hip, shoulder, and arm muscles. In addition, other muscles of the body are often affected, including the heart. Unfortunately, Cabell is wheelchair bound and unable to breath on his own, thus he has a tracheostomy and is on a ventilator 24 hours a day. He receives nutrition though a tube in his stomach and requires full-time support to meet his daily needs.

Despite these difficulties, he remains upbeat - as we have always known him to be - happy to embrace everyday with Kassie and Karrigan. He continues to share his refreshing sense of humor, voice his opinions on politics and speak out on other issues and causes important to him, giving to others before himself.

One of the complications of LGMD is pneumonia which results in the  inability to cough due to weakening of the respiratory muscles. Cabell has been in and out of the hospital multiple times over the past several months, and he has not been able to return home because he continues to require nursing care.  There are ZERO home care agencies in the area who will accept his insurance and provide the adequate services necessary. In order to receive the care that he needs, his family must hire a private duty nurse who is skilled in complex care. High tech care is expensive and Cabell requires at least 16 hours of care a day. As his disease worsens, he could require as many as 24 hours. 

Our goal is to provide his family with enough funds to support his medical needs for 1 year.