Jason's Journey
If I had five seconds to say the name of the most charismatic, thoughtful, entertaining, supportive, and inspirational person I knew, I would no doubt say Jason Tharp. If you know him, there's a really good chance you love him. If you don't, I can only hope that you get the chance to cross paths with him at some point in your life. Jason has truly made it his life mission to motivate and support kids across the country to grow into confident, happy, successful adults through his motivational school visits and books. In fact, Jacquie, who is helping me with this campaign, will give you a firsthand account of how Jason supported her daughter in the updates!
Jason is a young, healthy guy. He takes great care of himself, both physically & mentally. July 12th started out like any other day. Jason was in his office working on yet another book (which I'll touch on a little later). He happened to be on a call with his son Logan's basketball coach, Frank. The next thing Jason knew, he woke up with his phone in his lap, ringing. Frank called Jason for 45 minutes, with no answer. When Jason finally answered, Frank told him what happened and that during the previous conversation, Jason was fine, then all of a sudden sounded like he was underwater, followed by silence. Jason had thought he had just fallen asleep, but then realized some things just weren't adding up. His shoes were off and in a completely different room, amongst some other bizarre things.
After Jason finally made it home, Becky (Jason's wife) called Bonnie, a trusted physician friend who told them to immediately go have him get evaluated. They went to Urgent Care and were sent directly to the ER in Powell. Once they arrived at the ER, Jason was seen very quickly & a CT Scan showed that he had a "shadow" on his brain. He was promptly transported to Riverside hospital, where they were ready & waiting for him.
After an MRI, it was determined that Jason had a mass on the outer layer of his brain which caused him to have a seizure. It was determined right away that Jason was going to need to undergo brain surgery to remove the tumor. Luckily, they were able to remove all of it, based on its location.
This came completely out of left field for the Tharp family, as Jason had had no prior signs that something was very wrong. He was admitted and only 3 days later, Jason's tumor was removed. His results are not back yet as to what grade or course of action is definitive, but it has been determined that in order to cease the tumor from returning, he will need to undergo extensive chemotherapy & radiation. Unfortunately, so many of us know, either from personal experience or association, how debilitating and extensive these treatments can be.
Here's where we need you. Both Jason and Becky are self-employed; Jason being an author and Becky, a real estate agent. They have 2 boys- Logan & Dylan. Dylan is a sophomore at Ohio State & Logan will be a freshman in high school in a few short weeks. I can personally tell you that Jason & Becky are two of the most hard-working people I know. That in & of itself is going to cause a huge financial burden to the family, as every moment Jason is receiving treatment, going to an appointment, or recovering in-between, it is time neither Jason or Becky can work. In addition, they are fighting the insurance company as they have been told NONE of the care is or will be covered. NONE. OF. IT. That means the surgery, treatments, and everything else in between is their responsibility at the moment. The family is definitely fighting hard to rectify this every day.
We want finances to be the last thing occupying the minds of this amazing family which is why we are inviting anyone to give financially toward Jason's healing journey. Finances haven't been the main motivator for Jason to do the work he currently does as an author; he just wants to make a difference, even if it affects just one kid. He is CONSTANTLY coming up with ideas and ways to support our youth, specifically in the social-emotional part of their journey toward adulthood. Jason is a great father, husband, friend, and inspiration to many.
We know he already had an incredible brain, it just so happens to be incredibly expensive now too. Please note, we chose our goal amount in the hopes that the insurance company begins to cover some of Jason's care. If that does not end up being the case, we may need to change the goal to support the Tharp family. Transparency will remain throughout Jason's journey as needed. Please feel free to share this fundraiser with family & friends to support Jason and his family. We will be giving updates along the way as he continues his journey.
With Sincere Gratitude,
Jacquie & Lauren