First and foremost, thank you for your time and consideration.  This is Harry's wife composing this.  Please let me tell you a bit about Harry, the man who's been my soulmate for almost 28 years. . .

In 2013 Harry was diagnosed with Non Specific Malignant Squamous Cell Carcinoma. According to his oncologist the genesis of this was a botched tonsillectomy nearly 50 years previous. Fortunately, the problem was found early. Harry went through surgery and 33 days of high dose radiation aimed at every angle around a tumor that was sitting on top of his carotid artery.

Weird and difficult things happened due to this. He lost the function of his salivary glands and his taste buds. The hair in his armpits and upper beard fell out. A huge white streak appeared on the back of his head, etc.Once the radiation really started to hit, he had severe burns both inside (blisters, etc.) his throat and outside (turned black, and not a coffee with cream black) his neck. He lost the ability to swallow anything more than sips of water.His recovery was difficult. He wound up dependent upon a feeding (PEG) tube, which you can see in the photo.

He never let any of this get him down for more than a few minutes. He was determined to beat it from the start and at this point in his long term remission, things are looking very good.During his period of recovery we had the grim "good luck" to have a close family member pass and leave some money. That basically helped us get through his recovery without loosing our apartment, etc.

During his recent medical trials he has always been the favorite patient of his treatment team.

On Friday, May 13th, 2016 Harry came out of a sleep clutching his head in extreme pain and was so dizzy he could not stand without vomiting. The situation did not improve after about 10 minutes and for the first time in my life I called 911 for a medical emergency. I found myself grateful we reside downtown and still use a landline. The EMTs arrived very quickly.Harry was ultimately MRI'd and disagnosed with a hemmoraghic stroke in his Cerebellum. This is a stucture at the base of the back of the head responsible for things like balance and body temperature control. Things we are used to pretty much taking for granted.Currently he is receiving physcal therapy and rehabilitating at home. It is going well. His physical therapist likes him so much they will be keeping in touch, especially as the new Star Wars Movie approaches.

Harry is a good man.  He comes from a history of abuse but has refused to let that drive his life.  He's utterly broken the cycle.  He's never raised a hand to me or threatened to or anything.  I've tested him many times over the years and his typical response is to take a walk around the block.   Though he has no children of his own, we dearly love our niece and nephews.

Harry is the type of man who is respectful to everyone.  You'll see him tip his hat on the street as he passes folks, even though he walks with a cane.  Harry has a delightful and childlike sense of humor, coming up with silly gems like "Only America would take a car to the moon!" and as the holiday wine is opened and the bouquet sampled, "fruity yet flatulent!"

Harry is unable to walk in a straight line without assistance, can no longer get up on ladders, or use stairs.  We are hopeful this will change with work.  We are SO grateful it wasn't worse.

Harry is known to many as The Cat Man.  He is a lover of cats and is loved by cats.  Many feral cats that no one else can touch let Harry pet them.  He's been called a Cat Whisperer.

Harry worked hard to Trap Neuter and Release a local feral colony, which over about 10 years was reduced from 30-40 members to one, then none.  Those who didn't get adopted just lived out the remainder of their lives in their colony, being fed by, pet and talked to by . . . .yep, Harry.

We adopted three of them over the years.  The one in his lap is called Havanna.  This is a large male, who we think might have Burmese blood.  He remained unfixed and lived on the street for four to five years before we finally got him into a trap.  When Havanna moved up here he had to live isolated in a separate room which had a screen door so he could see/smell the other cats.  Harry would go in there all the time to help socialize him and it only took two exposures to being held in Harry's lap briefly before he started walking right in.  He never looked back.  Havanna and the other four cats here were very depressed when Harry was in the hospital.

Harry's work is very physical as he is a handyman on a large estate. This is why we are asking for help. So that Harry can take the time he needs to do proper rehabilitation while slowly phasing back into work.

Anything you might be willing to ccontribute would be tremendously appreciated, not only by us, but by all the folks who know and love Harry as well as all the cats who do the same. 

Funds would be used for things like rent and basic subsistence living.  Harry requires a large amount of feeding formula every day for his feeding tube and it is very expensive.  The State has refused to help with this so your funds would go towards feeding Harry and his dependents.

We are also anticipating some potentially nasty medical bills.  He used the County, teaching hospital, but still Medicare does not cover everything.

I want to stress that Harry's prognosis is very good, it's just going to take some rehabilitation time.  Anything you might be able to help with would be used for immediate and upcoming expenses.   Harry is motivated to return to work and I will be right by his side.

Just the fact that you've read this far means a tremendous amount to us.  We recognize that your time and money are not only valuable but  precious.

Thank you again.  Peace, Love and Meow!