Friends of Will Leety

September 16, 2022

To Friends of Will Leety

Prayers Answered!

On behalf of the Friends of Will Leety Initiative Organizing Committee, I wanted to provide an update and outlook for the near future. As a reminder, the FOWL Organizing Committee came together to provide a comprehensive and coordinated approach to support Will’s recovery.

First and foremost, thanks to all who have stepped up to provide financial support for Will, assisted in other ways and took the time to visit Will at the hospital. I know that he and his family appreciate all the love and support.

Will continues to make great progress and was released from hospital care on Wednesday, September 14th. He will continue his recovery from his apartment, including multiple therapy sessions per week for another 4 to 6 weeks. Will’s father, Murray, will be with Will for the next couple of weeks and will help assess the level of support he will require until he fully recovers.

Will will not be able to return to work until the medical professionals release him, which we believe will be 4 to 6 weeks.

For those who have had friends or family members who have recovered from a stroke, you know all too well that there is no set timeline or guarantee related to the recovery process. We continue to hope for the best but plan to support Will for the long haul.

While Will continues his recovery, we anticipate needing help in several areas: transportation, healthy meals, cleaning, and sitting with him, to name a few. We’ll publish schedules of needs for those who can support Will in any of these areas of need as we gain a better understanding of his specific needs.

Financially, Will has received his last paycheck from Tennessee Grasslands and is now on unpaid medical leave per the federal government’s Family and Medical Leave Act. Will currently has minimal income. He has good, comprehensive medical insurance and an AFLAC policy that might partly help pay medical bills that are not covered by insurance. His AFLAC claim is currently under review.

We will appoint an executor of the FOWL bank account to ensure that the money you have contributed is being spent to best support Will’s recovery.

 

It is difficult to know exactly how much is needed to support Will during his recovery, but we ask that if you can contribute to the FOWL initiative, you do so. We'll also communicate if we fall short of meeting his needs. There are two ways to contribute:

1. Drop off your contribution at Sumner Bank & Trust with instructions to deposit into the Friends of Will Leety account.

2. Make a direct contribution via GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/manage/friends-of-will-leety. There is also a link on the Caring Bridge site linked to this GoFundMe campaign.

Will’s family is doing a great job communicating his progress. You can receive daily updates by visiting https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/willleetypga. On his home page, press the “follow site” button to get an email when there’s a new journal entry.

We are cautiously optimistic about Will’s recovery and recovery timeline and look forward to seeing him around the club and interacting with members and their kids soon.

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to me at [E-Mail ausgeblendet].

Please share this information broadly with your network.

All the best,

Barry Jacobson for the Friends of Will Leety Organizing Committee

Committee: James Escue, Joe Gaskins, David “Boomer” Clark, Patti Thorpe, Murray Leety, Holly Clark.

___________________________________________

Will Leety, Director of Player Development at Tennessee Grasslands, suffered a massive stroke on Saturday, August 20, 2022, while preparing for a Junior Golf event at the Lakes Course (hole #4). Residents saw Will lying on the ground and immediately began life-saving measures while calling 911. Will was transported to Skyline Hospital where he was diagnosed, and doctors began treating the blood clot that caused his stroke. The clot was successfully dissolved, and Will remains at the hospital to start the recovery process. While doctors are happy with Will’s progress, there is no way to know the long-term effects of the damage caused by the stroke. We know that Will is in the hospital recovering and has started therapy to regain some of the function lost because of the stroke. Will is still struggling with speech and memory issues and weakness on his right side.

Many people are asking how they can best support Will, and we want to make sure people can do so in a manner that best supports his recovery. As a result, a group met on Thursday, August 25th, to organize the “Friends of Will Leety” initiative. The objectives of this initiative are:

1. Support Will’s recovery most efficiently and effectively possible.

2. Provide a comprehensive and coordinated approach to supporting Will’s recovery.

3. Provide an outlet for those who wish to support Will in a safe and transparent environment.

4. Communicate Will’s status and needs to his “friends”.

5. Support Will’s family during his recovery process.

As you can imagine, we are early in the process, so we don’t have a lot to report, but we’ll be working hard over the next couple of weeks to get organized and provide information that will allow Will’s friends to get plugged in where they feel they can best contribute.

Please remember that this is more like a marathon than a sprint. We are looking at both financial and non-financial support needs. We are evaluating all sources of income (insurance, disability, workers comp, etc.) and Will’s current list of expenses and medical cost exposure. We’ll continue to monitor Will’s progress so that when he is released from the hospital/rehab facility, we understand what help and support will assist him as he completes his recovery (meals, transportation, etc.). In summary, it will take us some time to understand the full extent of Will’s needs; even then, it will depend on the pace of his recovery.