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We have started this gofundme page to assist with the mounting medical bills for our dear friend and co-worker, Julian Gardner. Over the past few years his heart function has been slowly declining and now has been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure at the age of 45. Julian has made a significant impact on the people he has touched throughout his life and I am hoping that we can show him how much we appreciate and love him by helping him out in a very critical time of his life. Not only are we raising money to help offset the hospital bills but also to give him some support as he hasn’t been able to work since February of this year due to his worsening medical condition. For those of you who know him, Julian is a proud person who doesn’t ask for things, but when I saw him recently it was clear that he was hurting both physically and financially. I realized then that my good friend is in need of a couple miracles and I am hopeful that you will help me provide Julian with one.
A little bit about this great man:
I first met Julian in 1999 when he moved to the Chicagoland area from Wisconsin to join TEKsystems as a Recruiter in our Rosemont office. Julian was a different hire since he wasn’t a new college graduate. He came to us with experience working in politics and in the the banking industry. Julian also was one of the few people in our office who had children at the time and I saw the wonderful relationship and passion he had to focus his efforts on providing for his kids. He was always there supporting Kendrick’s passion for football and Simone’s passion for soccer. Julian’s career soared with TEKsystems and he was one of the top recruiters in the country supporting our largest customers. However, in October of 2011 his life would change dramatically when he was walking into Kendrick’s football game and started feeling chest pains.
Julian’s sister rushed him to the hospital and while in the waiting room, Julian went into cardiac arrest. Luckily the medical staff was right there to revive him. A few weeks later Julian returned to work but we knew that he needed to be closer to his doctor in Chicago and we transferred Julian to our downtown office in January of 2012. Julian focused on work and again his career took off and he was promoted to a Lead Recruiter and then to a Search Account Manager. He achieved a total of 8 recruiter and sales contests throughout his time with TEKsystems and made a personal and professional impact on countless people who had the pleasure of working alongside of him. But in April of 2015, Julian was seeking a change and ended up taking an Executive Recruiting job with Abbott Laboratories. By the end of 2015 he was promoted to be a Talent Acquisition Manager with Abbott and was in a capacity to engage TEKsystems for business opportunities. While things were going well for him at work, little did he know that another heart attack was right around the corner.
In March of 2016, Julian had his 2nd heart attack and while he tried to avoid surgery, his doctors convinced him that he had no other choice but to proceed with having an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) inside of his body. Prior to the surgery his heart function was between 25-35% and everyone knew the situation was grave. His ICD was installed in July and working properly. Life was starting to get back to normal; Kendrick went off to play football at Winona State and Simone was accepted into the US Military Academy at WestPoint. Life was good for a while, but like before his heart was still not healed.
In February of 2018, Julian was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and his heart function has dropped below 20%. He hasn’t been able to walk up a flight of stairs (and he lives on the second floor of his building) or walk more than 10 yards without having to sit down because he is out of breath. He is now in advanced stages of CHF and has been in the hospital 4 times since his diagnosis for excessive water retention. Most of the time spent in the hospital has been in ICU where he is by far the youngest patient in the entire ward. Even with so many tests being run and probes being installed in his heart and arteries, he was still the same Julian – making jokes and laughing about the cards that life has dealt him. Luckily Kendrick has moved in with him and has been a great help to get Julian to doctor appointments and providing support at home. Simone is still at WestPoint and hasn't been able to come home to see her Dad very often.
I received a call from Julian last week with the report after his most recent stay at Rush Hospital and the prognosis was that he needed to start meeting with doctors to discuss implanting an artificial pump into his heart this summer. This is a temporary fix that will give him the proper blood flow to keep him healthy while he is put on the waiting list for a heart transplant. They have decided that his heart is damaged beyond repair and there is no other alternative at this point. As you can imagine, the hospital bills are mounting and his inability to work has caused him financial stress which is obviously not good for his condition. I am hopeful that we can count on the generous people who have had the opportunity to know Julian to spread the word of his situation and ask for some financial assistance so that he is not burdened with the medical bills that continue to mount with each Dr. visit and procedure. I ask for your prayers for 2 miracles that Julian needs at this time – 1. Financial support from friends and strangers through this GoFundMe page and 2. A donor heart is found and a successful surgery is completed to give Julian a chance for a normal life beyond 45 years old.
A little bit about this great man:
I first met Julian in 1999 when he moved to the Chicagoland area from Wisconsin to join TEKsystems as a Recruiter in our Rosemont office. Julian was a different hire since he wasn’t a new college graduate. He came to us with experience working in politics and in the the banking industry. Julian also was one of the few people in our office who had children at the time and I saw the wonderful relationship and passion he had to focus his efforts on providing for his kids. He was always there supporting Kendrick’s passion for football and Simone’s passion for soccer. Julian’s career soared with TEKsystems and he was one of the top recruiters in the country supporting our largest customers. However, in October of 2011 his life would change dramatically when he was walking into Kendrick’s football game and started feeling chest pains.
Julian’s sister rushed him to the hospital and while in the waiting room, Julian went into cardiac arrest. Luckily the medical staff was right there to revive him. A few weeks later Julian returned to work but we knew that he needed to be closer to his doctor in Chicago and we transferred Julian to our downtown office in January of 2012. Julian focused on work and again his career took off and he was promoted to a Lead Recruiter and then to a Search Account Manager. He achieved a total of 8 recruiter and sales contests throughout his time with TEKsystems and made a personal and professional impact on countless people who had the pleasure of working alongside of him. But in April of 2015, Julian was seeking a change and ended up taking an Executive Recruiting job with Abbott Laboratories. By the end of 2015 he was promoted to be a Talent Acquisition Manager with Abbott and was in a capacity to engage TEKsystems for business opportunities. While things were going well for him at work, little did he know that another heart attack was right around the corner.
In March of 2016, Julian had his 2nd heart attack and while he tried to avoid surgery, his doctors convinced him that he had no other choice but to proceed with having an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) inside of his body. Prior to the surgery his heart function was between 25-35% and everyone knew the situation was grave. His ICD was installed in July and working properly. Life was starting to get back to normal; Kendrick went off to play football at Winona State and Simone was accepted into the US Military Academy at WestPoint. Life was good for a while, but like before his heart was still not healed.
In February of 2018, Julian was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and his heart function has dropped below 20%. He hasn’t been able to walk up a flight of stairs (and he lives on the second floor of his building) or walk more than 10 yards without having to sit down because he is out of breath. He is now in advanced stages of CHF and has been in the hospital 4 times since his diagnosis for excessive water retention. Most of the time spent in the hospital has been in ICU where he is by far the youngest patient in the entire ward. Even with so many tests being run and probes being installed in his heart and arteries, he was still the same Julian – making jokes and laughing about the cards that life has dealt him. Luckily Kendrick has moved in with him and has been a great help to get Julian to doctor appointments and providing support at home. Simone is still at WestPoint and hasn't been able to come home to see her Dad very often.
I received a call from Julian last week with the report after his most recent stay at Rush Hospital and the prognosis was that he needed to start meeting with doctors to discuss implanting an artificial pump into his heart this summer. This is a temporary fix that will give him the proper blood flow to keep him healthy while he is put on the waiting list for a heart transplant. They have decided that his heart is damaged beyond repair and there is no other alternative at this point. As you can imagine, the hospital bills are mounting and his inability to work has caused him financial stress which is obviously not good for his condition. I am hopeful that we can count on the generous people who have had the opportunity to know Julian to spread the word of his situation and ask for some financial assistance so that he is not burdened with the medical bills that continue to mount with each Dr. visit and procedure. I ask for your prayers for 2 miracles that Julian needs at this time – 1. Financial support from friends and strangers through this GoFundMe page and 2. A donor heart is found and a successful surgery is completed to give Julian a chance for a normal life beyond 45 years old.