Help Jeff Meyers with Stage IV Esophageal Cancer

“YOU HAVE CANCER.”    3 words that nobody wants to hear.  Unfortunately, my cousin Jeff, at 49 years young, heard this at the beginning of November.

 Jeff was admitted to the hospital after several months of not feeling well, losing an enormous amount of weight, and turning down much needed jobs due to extreme fatigue.  As a non-smoking, non-drinking person, we were all in disbelief to hear that he has Stage IV cancer in his esophagus, his lymph nodes and his liver. His doctors told him that his chemo-cocktail treatment might give him a few years, but no promises. His doctor said that he had one patient, younger than Jeff, experience a time of remission. This gives Jeff hope; he wants to be the 2nd patient. Positive thinking can create miracles.   

 Background history: Jeff worked with his dad, a father and son business of hydraulic lift installation and repair. After his dad’s tragic death, he took over the business and now it is a 1-man business.  Being self-employed, Jeff works when jobs come up… outside during bad Chicago weather, long hours, tight spaces and lifting heavy equipment by himself. He is dedicated to his customers and will not leave a customer hanging, so it is not unusual for him to work weekends and late hours. 

 Despite this daunting diagnosis, Jeff is an optimistic warrior. He always thinks positive.  He musters the strength to go to church and volunteer for tasks that he thinks he can do. Several days before Thanksgiving, in the freezing cold and snow, he changed the church’s outdoor display, so that the announcement was current to include Thanksgiving information. He offered to do this as the weather precluded the designated person from completing this task.

 Jeff also has a heart of gold.  He has helped with taking care of all his grandparents before they passed (moving in with one to help).  He stops everything at the drop of a hat to help those in need:  family members with car trouble or household emergencies, neighbors with dilemmas, and friends with favors.  If he sees someone in need, asking for food, he has been known to drive out of his way to stop for food and turns around to go back and give it to them.

 Jeff has been the breadwinner for him and his mom who moved in with him after his dad passed.   Not healthy enough to work for the past several months, they have lived off of what savings they do have, not enough to afford healthy foods packed with protein and certainly not enough to pay the bills and utilities.  They live a no-frills lifestyle.  They listen to the radio as an alternative to cable television; the land line is disconnected.  He doesn’t complain, he’s practical … that’s just what one does when one doesn’t have the money.  He works hard and has little time for play.

Jeff is a loving godfather to his nieces and nephews.  He has been a loving son, brother, uncle and friend.  This fund is intended to help Jeff with his debt that racked up quickly, since he cannot work.  The fund will also offset an already costly battle with Jeff’s cancer.  In a world where insurance coverage exceptions and high deductibles can bankrupt families, we want to help cover the cost of whatever we can:  trips to the hospital, utilities, bills, buying nutritious, healthy, organic, unprocessed food that he can easily swallow. 

 I am amazed at Jeff’s continuously witty and intelligent sense of humor, his determinedness, his generous and kind heart and his support for his community.   Please share this with your friends, family, extended family and friends that social media gives us access to. If everyone shares this, in no time, this family’s battle against this horrid disease will be eased just a little, allowing Jeff to concentrate on his health and not be distracted by worries of bills and wages. Let’s help Jeff by easing his worries so that he can relish his time with his mom, family and friends and keep coming up with his jokes. If you have ever received help when you were unable to ask for it then you understand why we are campaigning for him, for the help he could never ask for himself. 

 
Please donate what you can. Even 5  dollars gets us closer.

(When you donate, Gofundme automatically asks for a Tip to go to the organizer.. not asked for, nor wanted by me.  Put 0 in that spot...  that is ridiculous.)

 
Jeff’s 3 words: “PRAY FOR ME"