Help Bring Jim Home plus Medical-Rehab Expenses

Hi, this is Jim's family. We are trying to help Jim--whom all of you know and love from our community--get back home.

For those who may know and those who may not, our family member and loved one, Jim Stout, had a health scare about six weeks ago while out west in New Mexico where he winters. After some issues with his immunotherapy and a week’s stay at UNM Hospital in Albuquerque for extensive testing, Jim and Laurie returned to their New Mexico home to pack up and return back to Michigan. Beginning Easter Sunday, Jim has suffered multiple stroke episodes; it has been an up and down, touch and go last month and a half. Two weeks ago, we were given a ray of hope. Jim was able to get out of the hospital and into inpatient rehab to stabilize himself to fly back home. This last weekend we incurred a turn of events. Jim found himself back in the E.R. with ongoing complications. These setbacks have made us realize that this is not a short-term fix. The further medical treatments needed has left most of his loved ones realizing he needs to be back home. The latest news has left our hearts aching, and we've learned, as most people in traumatic situations ask, how God works in mysterious ways. It has taken us to this point to recognize that this is a calling to get him back to where he belongs...back to Michigan with family and friends. We are reaching out to the community--the ones he knows, the ones he loves, and the ones he's touched--for help. It's taken this long because Jim is a giving type of person and does not ask for much in return, but we feel with the recent occurrences, we'd like to ask the community to help us support the funding of an Air Ambulance to bring him home. For clarity, Jim is in a condition that he needs critical care and cannot just fly home on his own. At this point, an air ambulance is his only option to get back to where he belongs. We have never realized the expenditures of an air ambulance, but it does incur thousands of dollars; specifically, $25,000-$30,000. This is the core reason for this GoFundMe. Thank you and God Bless. We would appreciate any and all financial contributions. Continued thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated as well. Please feel free to share.

Stacy Knapp, Ashley Longstreet, and Troy Corless