My name is Doug Gesink and am a husband and father trying to pay my bills. Here's what happened.

Saturday April 23, 2016 my 9 year old son and I went out for an afternoon of taking down treestands and hanging out in the woods. On the second stand I was kneeling on the stand and when I unlocked the padlock, the stand and I fell to the ground. I fell 16' landing on my feet. I had my harness on but hadn't tied it to the tree yet. the chain and padlock weren't supposed to be supporting the stand; they were to prevent theft and that's all. 

15 minutes before I fell I asked Josiah if he know what to do if I were to falll out of my treestand. He admitted he didn't so we went over the process. Get my phone out, call 911 and help when the fire fighters arrive.

Thankfully when I fell he didn't see me fall.  He did however come running when I yelled. He helped get my phone out and call the ambulance. I'm so proud of him; he stood over me to keep the sun out of my eyes until help arrived. i"m so proud of him; he never panicked and he was such a help.

I have two compression fractures in my back and have spent the last 5 months in a back brace  with a 10 weight lifting restriction. the weight restrictions have been removed but now the construction season is winding down. 

A month after a fell my boss let me go from my sales job. So I became unemployed with a broken back, no disability insurance or unemployment. Sales jobs are subcontracted positions only.  I've returned to owning my own business however the end of the summer is not the time to start doing construction again. I'm back to work as a contractor but its difficult to work with a back brace.

We are out of money, I've sold a gun, tools, hunting gear and anything we don't use or need.  Our savings and retirement are gone. 

I received disappointing news from the doctor last week. My back isn't healing the way its suppose to. I'm in a back brace until January.  We are going to do a bone scan and then possibly vertebral plasty.

Income has been very low and we need help.  We may have to sell the house to pay bills but we can't afford to rent either. 

We are raising the money to pay medical bills, mortgage and phone bills.  We have been living off credit cards and they are almost maxed out. 

We really need the money to start coming in by November 1st. 

As a father I'm struggling to take care of my family and keep from going bankrupt. I'm 51 years old and the future is looking very difficult right now. 

We will be very grateful for any assistance you can give.  We do have a 12' aluminum boat for sale, a gift certificate to a bed and breakfast and toys that Josiah no longer uses for sale. contact me if you are interested.
Thank you in advance.

Doug Gesink