Help Chris and Jackie Secure Essential Care

This fundraiser is for Chris and Jackie Lokvam. Chris is a retired truck driver and Jackie is a self-employed massage therapist. They both live in Madison, Wisconsin.

In 2020, Chris began suffering severe symptoms of an unknown neuromuscular degenerative condition. Over the past four years, he’s suffered a very gradual decline in his physical abilities, and in December 2022 suffered a fall in his home that left him incapacitated, and that necessitated in-home assistance round the clock. Over the past few months, Chris has weakened significantly and has undergone a significant decline. He is currently unable to walk by himself and is confined to a chair. He needs assistance standing up, sitting down, getting dressed, and with all basic functions. His mental faculties are intact and he can listen and follow conversations, but can’t always speak.

Chris and Jackie sought a medical diagnosis for Chris’s malady, but were not able to obtain a clear diagnosis for his symptoms from the medical personnel they saw. They were told it could be a number of different disorders, but to just call it Parkinsonism as a default. This left Chris and Jackie unclear on what to do.

For a period of 2 months, Jackie was hiring in-home overnight caregivers, but has not had anyone for some time, and has been caring for Chris herself. Jackie is the sole provider for the household and has been struggling to both work and care for Chris, who has been needing assistance throughout the night, every 1-2 hours. Consequently, Jackie has had minimal sleep and is drained physically, mentally, and financially.

The good news is that Jackie has found another in-home care provider who is able to stay with Chris overnight for the cost of $300 per night. This fundraiser is aimed at raising at least $5000 to cover four nights of sleep per week for Jackie for four weeks.

We thank you humbly for any financial assistance you can offer to Jackie as a caretaker who has been caring for Chris for a year and half with very little relief. Thanks for reading -- we will be posting updates on Chris’s condition and how the fundraiser is going.

About me: my name is Matt Neff and I’m a friend of Chris and Jackie. I met Jackie several years ago through my acupuncturist, Franciska at Pivotal Point Health in Oregon, Wisconsin, where Jackie was employed. I’m employed at the Willy Street Co-op in Madison, although my background is in English and writing, which is why I offered to write this fundraiser for them.