Recovering in Viña Del Mar Chile Feb. 2019 - Picture of me and my students in the field 

What happened to me? A fall that led to a broken femoral head in my hip - 6,836 miles from home...now two surgeries later,  I am trying to afford a permanent home for me and my son. 

In December of 2019, I shattered the top of my femur while working with conservation organizations abroad in southern Chile. My work is running a Los Angeles based non-profit called Biocitizen. Our mission is to teach local youth how to love and protect our planet. After the fall it took me a month to return home to my son and community; during this time I was operated on in Chile and finally returned home in February of 2019 when it was safe to fly.

Since the accident, I have lost the home my son and I shared, and due to chronic hip pain, the ability to make a consistent living.  In June 2019, I chose to go back to work in the field with students, but I developed debilitating pain in my hip, making it impossible to walk unaided - driving and sleeping would become nearly impossible for the next 4 months.


Pain Misdiagnosed

In July 2019 when my MediCal kicked in, scans of the injury were ordered, but the cause of my extreme hip pain was not diagnosed properly. In September, I had to take on a second full-time job in an attempt to cover living expenses and to find a rental where I could live with my son again.

In early October I learned that I would have to move out of yet another rental and dear friends stepped in and offered me a room.  However, this is not a permanent solution, I will need to find a place by February 1st. 

But in mid-October, it was finally determined that the hip repair (rod and screw) done in Chile, had failed sometime in June of 2019.  Unfortunately, the pain was coming from a protruding screw in my hip socket, which had exited the femoral head - and so a full hip replacement was required. My surgery was performed on November 12. Once it was clear that I would have to stop work for almost all November and December to recuperate from this new surgery and protect the new hip, my plan to work through the fall, save money, and get back in a permanent home with my son was once again delayed.


I need help to get into a permanent home & getting my mobility back.

Until I can get back to work, I am asking for assistance with funds for "first-month's" rent plus deposit, in addition to funds to cover some additional of my additional medical costs not covered by MediCal - I will need extensive reconditioning  due to a really complicated recovery process and spending close to a year on a crutch. 

The Los Angeles rental market is near impossible to afford, but I need to stay in the city to keep my son close to his father and his school, and I must continue to build the school I run because we have built a community of families who now depend on our important experiential education programs, and our current environmental crisis happening demands that we all do what we can, whatever the cost.

With Gratitude...

I continue to be amazed by the generosity of my friends, family, and local community since the accident, last January. It's been a long road and I am looking forward to standing on my own two (strong, healed) legs - and in a home with my son. 

Thank you for any contribution you can make. 

Jesse

I am the one on the crutch!