Unexpected Medical Expences

My name is April, and I am the sister of whom many of you know greatly, Jeremiah McClure/Gribbin aka Miah. I am starting this GoFundMe in an effort to help my brother and his family, which includes his wife (Kathleen), and their two boys, Liam (age 7) and Robert (age 14), with unexpected and significant medical bills, that result from my brother being hospitalized with COVID-19, and the aftermath this devastating virus has created for their family.

As most of you know, my Brother took a huge leap this year in starting his own plumbing business, a dream of his for many years. In February, they "opened the doors" to McClure & Son Plumbing, and for nearly the last year, things have been great. In March, Jeremiah and Kathleen decided it would be best that she leave her career to help with the new family business. This meant sacrificing the great benefits that accompanied her employment. As they navigated being new business owners, replacing those benefits was always a discussion; however, starting from the ground up, it was "easy" to allow replacing those benefits to be minimized in their great list of priorities.

And recently, life has taken a very unexpected turn... Kicked their feet from beneath them... Jeopardizing all that they have worked for, all that they have saved, all that they have built...

On August 24th, Jeremiah started experiencing covid symptoms. For the first few days, he thought of it nothing more than a bad cold. Sadly, things just continued to spiral out of control and, on August 28th, while their youngest watched in total fear, Jeremiah was rushed to the hospital, nearly unresponsive. His wife unable to go with him.

When Jeremiah arrived at the hospital he was near Diabetic Coma, as his body (working VERY hard to fight the virus), had gone into Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). Over the course of the next two weeks, Doctors and Nurses worked fearsly to keep Jeremiah out of the ICU. Yet, he required extensive care, to not only fight the virus but the DKA. There came a point when Doctor's began discussing with his wife, movement to the ICU and ventilation. Through God's grace, staff were able to continue their treatments and avoid the terrifying move to ICU placement.

However, things took a turn for the worse, Jeremiah's blood draws began to show a very unforgiving bacteria in his blood. Through additional testing, they discovered the bacteria was potentially in the lining of his heart valves; which then required he undergo a Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE Test). However, the covid virus rendered his body still too weak, and therefore, unsafe to proceed with the procedure while he remains dependent on oxygen to breathe. So, this testing will require outpatient clinic visits.

Over the course of the last few days, as Jeremiah's body has gotten stronger and levels improving; Doctors decided he could finally go home.

However, that does not come without its own challenges and, in no way is Jeremiah back to himself or able to continue to provide for his family. He will require significant outpatient care.

His wife, Kathleen, has spent most of her time, despite being ill with covid herself, trying to navigate all that this has burdened their family with and doing everything she can to make sure Jeremiah is taken care of.

In order for Jeremiah to remain home, he will be required to have breathing treatments, he has also had a PICC line inserted for daily administration of needed antibiotics to fight the bacteria in his blood and heart, he will need insulin daily; this is just a short list of the care that will be needed.

Kathleen has been able to work with staff and various organizations to see that he receives this care. However, because they do not have insurance, everything will be out of pocket. Just today, Kathleen was quoted nearly $1700 per week for the daily antibiotics, weekly nurse visit,and breathing treatments. This does NOT include other medication such as his insulin, nor weekly blood draws and other testing. Doctors have advised Kathleen that he will need these treatments for a minimum of 6-weeks. In addition, I can only imagine that due to the extensive treatment he received while in the hospital, and the amount of time he was admitted; those bills will likely be in the 100s of 1000s of dollars.

I know that Kathleen is diligently working to find resources that may be able to help. But unfortunately, is not having much luck and is already paying quite a bit out of pocket.

Jeremiah and Kathleen have worked hard to establish a decent savings, which will cover things, but for just a bit. Jeremiah will also be unable to work, for likely a couple of months. With no money coming in now, weekly medical costs, and their normal day-to-day bills and expenses; their savings isn't going to last long. And being a single owner/employee company ,there is no one else that can cover the workload of the business.

My hope is that by sharing this story, we can come together (either by simply sharing, and/or donating), and help to relieve some of the burden and expenses they're facing.

Thank you so much for considering. I know that even the thought of reaching out for help in such a way is unlike them, but will be so greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

April