Hello,

My name is Joel "Papa J" Thompson. I'm a very devoted single father of three daughters and two beautiful grandchildren. I've been an active member of my church and community in the Sacramento area for over 40 years. I've been blessed by many friendships I've made throughout the years and enjoyed playing raquetball, shooting hoops with friends and teaching karate to many different walks of life. I even had the privilege of playing semi-pro baseball for the Sacramento Smokeys. I recently was forced into an early retirement from barbering at my small barbershop due to Viral Cardio Myocarditis which, my advanced heart failure specialists believe was caused by an unknown virus that attacked my heart. It is a very extreme condition and because of it, I'm now required to wear a Zoll "Life Vest" 24/7, in case of SCD or, better known as Sudden Cardiac Death! I have a team of cardiologists who are all wonderful and have been surveying and evaluating my heart muscle for about a year now. All they can say is I'm an "anomaly" due, to the great physical condition I was in prior to this bug attacking my heart. Due to the virus, my cardiac "Ejection Fraction" was at 15% when I was originally seen a year ago. According to the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Stanford University Hospital and all the others, they say a "healthy heart" normally pumps the blood out of the left ventricle at 60% and anything at 35% or less is considered "Not Compatible With Life". Therefore, I'm very fortunate to still be alive! My request for this much needed fundraiser, is due to my massive loss of income due to my condition and significant debt due to housing costs and large medical expenses. I am about to lose my housing and have no resources to pay my medical bills and rents due to my illness and the government-pandemic lockdown of my barbershop. I'm very grateful for the love, kindness and generosity of all who are willing to contribute to help me survive during this tumultuous time. God bless you all.