Betsy's funds for Eric

Hi, my name is Betsy Field. I am 59 years old and I live in Sebastian, Florida. I have a twin brother, Eric Field and this is his story.

Eric began working in high school and grew up to become a successful Chicago business man in several areas of expertise including messenger services industry, transportation and logistics, fleet management, consulting and writing for trade publications. For a time, he owned his own company. Never married, Ric has lived a full and satisfying life; his passion has always been his work. Ric is a voracious reader, always wanting to learn new things and improve his business skills.

In late May of 2016, I received another call from a stranger who was a friend of Eric's. No one had seen him, no other friends had heard from him. His landlord called me as well and was deeply concerned because he had not seen my brother in two months. He told me that he had actually checked inside Ric's apartment and found no one, all of Eric's things were there untouched. He said, “no one has been in there for a long time”.

I emailed the Watch Commander at the closest precinct to Ric's place. I advised him of details that I knew and also my very real concerns as to Ric's safety. I was nearly frantic with worry as I waited through a very long July 4th weekend. On July 5th, I did hear from a detective in Chicago who initiated a Missing Person Report, and began to check the county morgue. This began the first steps of “Finding Eric”.

In late August, Ric was seen panhandling. Despite several people looking, he was only seen the one time. He did have a car but its condition and location were unknown. We have all seen the brutal December temperatures in Chicago lately where high temperatures were in single digits or below zero, plus wind chill and lots of snow.

In late December, Eric finally reached out to his best friend, Mr. D. He borrowed a cell phone and asked D. to please come and get him where he waited at a Starbucks. Mr. D. took several minutes to find him even though Eric was sitting only 5 feet away, Mr. D. did not recognize him. I cannot express my feeling of relief and JOY that, at long last, Eric had been found! I was just beside myself and tears flowed freely from my eyes. Two days later, on Monday, Eric flew south to Orlando, Florida where I picked him up. I had not seen him in more than 5 years and I too could hardly believe the changes in him.

No one ever plans on being homeless and for too many reasons to count, it happens to too many people. How many of us are only one measly paycheck away from being homeless? For Ric, a thing happened, then another something happened and soon enough, he was homeless. I am happy to tell you that he is NOT an addict of any sort – not drugs, booze, cigarettes, gambling or other vice. He's a 59 year old man who became homeless. All of this time, he'd been living in his car; he was never with anyone or sheltered...at all. Try as I do, I simply cannot imagine the frigid nights in a car that no longer ran.

I had to hospitalize him on Tuesday less than a day after I got him home. I will not share too much about specifics here but he was admitted immediately in very critical condition. He was knocking on Death's door with a laundry list of issues including kidney failure and sepsis. In the hospital, I realized that he had not been able to actually stretch out and sleep since his own bed. An adult that stands over 6 ft.  cannot stretch out in a car. He was discharged on the 11th day and he is so much improved; but he has a long road ahead of him.

December 30th, 2016: We are in trouble.
Without insurance and with virtually NO money, Ric will not be able to get the follow up care that he must have with at least three specialists. I, too am under some financial burden and I do not have insurance but I am getting by and that is okay. This story is about my brother. I am sure I don't need to tell you how nearly impossible it is to get medical care without means to pay for it. I cannot even imagine the bills generated by his hospital stay but all of that is for later.

My immediate focus is to see him recover his health by seeing the doctors he needs to see, provide the prescriptions he requires and some medical equipment he needs at home. He needs a valid address, bank account, etc.  I have been advised that certain tests and scans will need to be repeated in the near future as he is monitored. The hospital bills are scary enough but he needs help with after care and in-home nursing care that has begun, and I will be his care giver for as long as it takes.

Thank you for taking the time to read Eric's story. I never thought I would have need of this resource, but life happens and I know no better way to reach out for a needed hand UP.

I lost my brother to homelessness once. In the hospital I very nearly lost him again. I need your help to help Eric.

God Bless you and may all of us have a better 2017.