The Douglas Family

   I'm Julie McCullough and I've known Ashley Douglas for over 10 years. I'm starting this GoFundMe for James and Ashley Douglas who are in need of dire help. Ashley and James got married in November of 2018. In 2020 James was diagnosed with Cavernous Hemangioma, an abnormal tangle of tightly packed capillaries in the brain that bleed and cause seizures and strokes. James has been going through treatment which consists of 24-hour observation, medication to try and keep the seizures and strokes away and are looking at the last option for treatment which is surgery.

 

   James was previously a maintenance man and handyman who did lots of jobs and brought in fluid money before his initial diagnosis. Now he can't work due to needing 24-hour observation. James cannot be left alone because he has had up to 50 seizures in one day alone. Being on medication has made the seizures definitely slow down but he still has them. His wife Ashley can't get a full-time job, scared her husband will have a seizure or stroke while she's away and fears the worst, that he falls while she's gone and hurts himself to an extreme. Due to him needing to be watched 24/7 she works with doordash. Working for doordash gives her the opportunity to have her husband and even sometimes her children in the car with her while she gets food for her community. Their hometown, Bonham TX, is small and up and coming place but not many people are using door dash often. She's really lucky if she makes $30 a day which doesn't even touch feeling her tank up. Ashley is playing and losing game basically.

 

   Before the seizures and job loss for James, the Douglas family had their lives together. Since being diagnosed in 2020 and the pandemic was at its height, James and Ashley were able to barely maintain what they had at the time as far as housing- due to pandemic payments while he could no longer work. They had a previous GoFundMe when James initially had to quit working and that was to keep food and clothes on their kids backs, while the pandemic payments were for their home payments, electric, water... Etc.

   The Douglas family has lost their home and moved in with Ashley's parents, and rely on her family for food and shelter. They have sold EVERYTHING to scrape in money for their children and doctor appointments. The biggest worry the Douglas family has is gas money and medication cost (other than the obvious medical diagnosis) James's primary doctor he sees for his medical condition is 1 hour away. The neurosurgeon that he needs to see, that would be doing the surgery on him is 3 & 1/2 hours away, exactly 198 miles one way.

The cost of medication is $5 per bottle, 4 prescriptions a month, and for the visits are $5 per visit. To the average working person this seems extremely cheap, but for Ashley who works for Door Dash in a tiny town that doesn't utilize it much, and with the cost of gas rising, this is ALOT to them. 

 

I put a 10K limit for the fundraiser because honestly right now the sky is the limit as far as how much to raise. Gas prices are constantly skyrocketing during this time and a tank of gas is unpredictable every single day. After their primary Care visits that are very reoccurring and the unpredictable amount of visits they will need to see the neurosurgeon before, during, and after surgery has the Douglas family drowning in the pressure and weight of life.

 

My message to their family is there is a silver lining, especially if we can raise money for her family... That silver lining is that- one day James will have his surgery and he will be able to make all his recovery appointments, and the Douglas family will prevail. So I am asking everyone and anyone who understands what it's like to just need a little help, please donate, even if it's just the GoFundMe minimum (I think $5's?)

 

Thank you,

Julie McCullough.