Recently, Joe Eason learned of his diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's or ALS.

Joe is a US Army Purple Heart Veteran, loving husband of 16 years to Karen, dedicated father to Ashley, Austin, Fayth, Joey & Xander and a faithful friend to all.   As many of you know, Joe and Karen lost their son Austin tragically to a senseless murder last April and they are now faced with another heartbreaking situation.  Our hope with this campaign is to provide stability, love and routine to the family along with opportunities for them to spend special time together before Joes mobility declines further.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. A person diagnosed with ALS may live an average life span of 2-5 years from onset.

Joe has a deep love of this country; as a result he joined the U.S. Army right after high school in early 1987. The first four years of his thirteen year enlistment was with one of the units that reconstituted the 10th Mountain Division, Charlie Company 1st Battalion 87th Infantry “Crazyhorse”. He continued his service in the Florida Army National Guard with the 1st Battalion 124th Infantry Regiment “Scouts” until 1994. After a break in service and the terror attacks of 9-11, Specialist Eason re-enlisted and joined Bravo Company 1st Battalion 124th Infantry Regiment.  His unit was awarded the prestigious “Order of the Spur”. During his last enlistment he wound up deploying to various locations throughout the Middle East, ending up in the An-Albar Province of AR-Ramadi Iraq.

In July of 2003, Specialist Eason was caught in a Mortar attack while defending a key position in AR-Ramadi. He was hit by a 61MM Mortar Round which severely injured him. He retained thirteen pieces of shrapnel in his lower extremities. He rehabilitated on his own while stationed at Ft. Stewart GA Medical Hold Battalion.  Joe permanently retired from the U.S. Army after attaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology “Computer Forensics”, and until recently was employed in the information technology field.

We have set up this GoFundMe to support the medical and comfort care needs of the Eason family during this difficult time. Please donate if you can to help relieve the financial burden the family will face as Joe has reached a point where he will be unable to return to work.

Outside of financial donations the family would like to engage in some activities over the next several months while Joe is able to get out and about. If you are able to contribute in any capacity towards any of these please reach out to Joann Lynn to coordinate. Any tangible assistance such as discounted/comp tickets, airline vouchers, discounted/comp hotel stays or gifts towards the below bucket list items are also appreciated.

Disney
Rochester NY to see his granddaughter
Germany/Italy
Nashville, TN
Asheville, NC to take the kids to the mountains
Grand Canyon

Every contribution small or large, will make a difference.

If you are unable to contribute financially please hold the family in prayer as they navigate through this challenging time.