John Self is no stranger when it comes to helping people in their time of need.  It is safe to say there's not much he hasn't seen when it comes to helping others.  John had worked in various positions within the construction profession, it wasn't until he volunteered as a Fire Fighter that he found his true calling.  After many years of being a volunteer Fire Fighter, he was hired as a Full-time paid Fire Captain where he proudly served the community for many years. John later on in his career, also worked for the ambulance company as an EMT.  

I met John while working for an ambulance company that serviced the City John volunteered/worked for many years ago.  From the first meeting, I quickly discovered that not only was John great at his job, he was passionate about helping others both in his personal life and his professional life.

John, for as long as I have known him is the kind of man that calls it EXACTLY as he sees things.  I know that kind of personality rubs some people the wrong way but it's never out of meanness or spite. I call it, saying things that you NEED to Hear not what you WANT to hear.  Under it all, he's one of the most caring people I have the pleasure of calling my friend.  I have many stories of the help and support he has given to people, most people never even knew that he was the one behind the groceries left on their porch when they didn't have money to feed themselves or their children. 

The entire time I have known John he has never asked for anything from anyone.  On that note this is where this Go Fundme  comes in.  John has been recently diagnosed with Cancer of the tongue.  John has had his fair share of Cancer rearing its ugly head in his life which he successfully beat each time.  This time will be no exception I'm certain. 

John is scheduled to have surgery November 19, 2019 in Stanford Ca, which is almost 4 hours away from where he lives.  Out of pocket medical expenses are piling up as well as other personal expenses. John and his wife Ann have been driving back and forth to Stanford at least once a week for the last several weeks. John will need two surgeries one to remove the cancerous area and the other will be reconstruction.

When John has his first surgery, he will have a 5-7 day hospital stay which his wife Ann will be staying in Stanford with him so she won't have to make the several hour drive back and forth.  These donations will help tremendously with gas, food, lodging and cover out of pocket expenses insurance doesn’t cover.

Since John and his wife Ann have retired, they now find themselves on that "great thing" called fixed income.  John is not the kind of person to ask for anything for himself, he's from the school of he gets what he earns and earns what he gets, that's what makes him exceptional and that's one of the reasons he's my best friend. 

Please help me to make their situation a little less stressful John has given a lot to his community, friends, family and complete strangers.  It’s time to give him a helping hand.

Having been in EMS for 30 years myself, there isn't many non-profit organizations that provide financial support for America’s  EMS personnel.  Over the last several years the need has been increasing in our EMS community.  This has lead me to begin on the journey of starting a Non-profit which will provide financial assistance to our dedicated EMS personnel in Central California.  I have decided that this Non-Profit will be known as the Johnnie Mac Self EMS Foundation.  

I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read about my dear friend.  

The Self family would like me to share Estevan Sausedo’s gofundme story. Estevan was an EMT who tragically and unexpectedly passed away this month. Please visit his page as well and share.