Intro

Hello, our names are Grayson (29) and Jameson (26). We’re asking for your help in raising funds for our dreams, our family, and to help us give back to our community and those less fortunate than us. We are two trans men who fell in love over a dating app back in December of 2022. Since falling in love our lives have been a beautiful menagerie of chaos and we are desperately seeking stability.

Both of us are survivors of abuse and neglectful situations. In August 2023 we went through with our plan to move out of Salt Lake City Utah to Salem Oregon. Our goals were to be free of our pasts and to achieve safety in the social and political climates. We have a young daughter, Samantha, who we took with us as well as our dogs, cats, and rabbits. When we moved, Grayson had to leave his in-person job and shortly after Jameson lost his remote position. Our original goal was to stay in a temporary AirBnB or two while we looked for a house to buy, but with no jobs the money we had started going to more and more temporary housing.

Then, the unthinkable happened, and Grayson had a heart attack. Grayson has a heart condition called CPVT (Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia).This condition causes your heart to receive extra beats from the ventricular chamber of your heart with exertion and adrenaline which can lead to loss of consciousness or cardiac arrest. He was diagnosed at 13 after he lost consciousness during track practice and since then he was on the medication Nadalol to manage his heart. When we moved, Grayson lost access to his medical coverage and ran out of medicine. We were trying to get approval for medicaid and we had just received the insurance cards and scheduled a doctor to get his medicine. It just wasn’t in time.

On the night of November 8th, 2023, Grayson suffered from a cardiac arrest. He became unresponsive and stopped breathing. Jameson was thankfully by his side when it happened. Jameson called 911 and was instructed to start chest compressions. After the ambulance arrived and paramedics took over, the total time before Grayson was resuscitated was 35 minutes. Grayson was taken by ambulance to the Salem hospital where he spent the next week in critical condition. Jameson never left his side and his parents came to babysit our daughter while Grayson was in the hospital.

The doctors informed Jameson that while young, the outlook was not a guarantee. There was a chance Grayson would never get better, but they would do everything they could for him. By the miracle of modern medicine, and the will of the universe, Grayson was able to wake up. He’s suffered damage to the brain and body, but he thankfully was able to come back to the world of the living. By Thanksgiving, Jameson and Grayson were able to go back to their AirBnB together and Grayson began to heal.

At this point, our money had run out and we were at risk of being completely homeless with our daughter and pets. We were able to reach out to family, who kindly helped out and at the last possible moment, we secured an apartment and Jameson began working again. After 13 different AirBnB homes which we would have to move from every week-2 weeks, we finally found something that could keep us stable enough while trying to heal from the trauma of the last 4 months. And once again, tragedy struck. Grayson’s health began to decline again. He was in and out of the hospital with severe fatigue, weight loss, and stomach problems. This time, the doctors could not figure out the problem, and Jameson took leave from work to care for the household and our daughter. After a few weeks of worsening condition, Grayson decided to leave and live with his family for a week in order to rest long enough to heal. While the doctors could not locate the cause, we could see that his body was not absorbing nutrients. Any longer, and he could have likely starved to death. After healing from this newest ailment, Grayson was able to come home. He still struggles with the brain damage from the heart attack, and with additional stomach problems as well as a myriad of other diseases. At least now he wasn’t on death’s door.

Grayson has been unable to work so far, and while we have been applying for disability, there are still many obstacles that cross our path. But we are fighters and survivors. We won’t back down and continue to try to pick ourselves up. This is why we’re asking for help. Grayson, Jameson, and Samantha have all been through so much, and we are trying to find our next steps so that we never have to walk this difficult path again.

About Us

We wanted to tell you a little bit about who we are and thought the best way to do that was to have one of us write something about the other. This way it is a more honest and outside perspective. Jameson has written about Grayson, Grayson has written about Jameson, and together Jameson and Grayson wrote about Samantha.

Jameson:

Jameson is literally the best person I have ever met. And I know I am biased because he is my fiance, but his genuine kindness, care, compassion and willingness to give to and serve others astounds me. Jameson is someone who always is doing something for someone else. He is the kind of person who loves to give and make people smile. He is bright, shining, charismatic and joyful. He always looks for the positive side and tries to help others see the light in the darkness. Jameson is loyal, and will fight tooth and nail for those he loves. He was there for me every day while I was in the hospital, and still managed to go home to put Samantha to bed as often as he could get away. He fought for my rights, he fought for what I wanted.

Jameson is thoughtful, always thinking of others and how he can make their day better, make their day easier. An example is he went to a shop in town and saw the cashier was wearing a crocheted headband. He thought it was beautiful and asked if it was handmade. The cashier said no, but that they wished it was. Jameson said oh I only ask because I crochet, if you ever want something let me know. They told him another headband would be nice. He asked what colors they liked and he said he would make them one. Then he went home, looked up a headband crochet pattern, got the colors of yarn they liked and made them a headband. When he took it to them and they were so surprised and happy. They asked how much it was and he said oh no it’s free, I just thought it might make you happy. And then left the store.

He is just so thoughtful, genuine and kind. He is also the most authentic person I know, and that is something beautiful. He inspires and encourages me to be my most authentic self, and by doing so, we have found we are happier. Jameson is also very hardworking. He is a full time dad, a full time worker, and a full time partner/caretaker of me since the heart attack. He barely has time for himself but is always willing to help out more. He works hard, meticulously and thoroughly. Always giving more than 100% into everything he does. Jameson is passionate. When he is interested in something and or believes in something, he does deep research on the topic. He becomes an expert so that he can be sure of his opinion. Having it fully researched and backed up with facts and proof. When he believes in something he puts his all into it and the fire of that passion burns bright. On top of everything else, he saved my life. And yet asks for no recognition. He does not want to be a hero. Because he only did it out of love..And stayed by my side, retelling me the story of my heart attack over and over. Every day, multiple times a day because I couldn’t remember due to brain damage.

He has been with me, every step of the way in my recovery, holding my hand. Encouraging, loving, supporting. He is my rock. He is my anchor. He is my everything. I hope everyone can see how amazing he is too. I am forever grateful to have him in my life. I love him with everything I am. I hope you can love him too. -Grayson

Grayson:

Grayson is one of the kindest people I know. Similar to me, he is always giving to others and caring for his loved ones. But while there are many things I admire about him, the most important is how he lives his life authentically. He stays true to who he is and loves this part of himself deeply. His strength to always be himself is a strength that even I myself am still learning, yet he’s mastered this as much as anyone can. He always goes the extra mile to help those in need and his dreams have always surrounded helping others. He will choose to help someone in need and be their caretaker, friend, and confidant without question. His willingness to show up for others is one thing I love most about him.

When we first met, Grayson had a friend who had her whole life turned upside down all of a sudden. So during Christmas, he chose to be there for her and help her through heartbreak and piecing herself back together. For me, he has always made me feel loved and cared for even when life hasn’t been kind by showing up with a cuddle, a mug of tea, and a warm smile. Before living together we were about 40 minutes apart, and when I got my wisdom teeth out, he was there to take care of me, help with chores, and take me to my appointments. With him, I have never felt alone. I have always felt as though I had a lifeline, and all I must do was ask.

He loves our daughter as his own and truly jumped head first into parenting. Being a step parent is not easy, but he has an incredible relationship with Samantha. She loves him as if he was there from day one, and he loves her just the same.

Grayson is an animal lover, but his biggest love is his rabbits. He’s studied and learned how to properly care for these incredible animals, and has even helped not just myself, but strangers learn more about proper bunny care.

This man has made me so incredibly happy, and I could, and will continue talking about him forever. Showing this person off to the world as I am so so lucky to have found him.

-Jameson

Samantha:

Samantha is our darling four year old daughter. She is loving, kind, sweet, and sassy. She loves music, drumming, drawing and dinosaurs. We are so grateful and proud to have the honor of calling her ours.

How you Can Help

If you’re willing to listen to our story we would love for you to listen. Yes we would love a donation, but we understand wanting to help and not having the ability to. But there are other ways. If you are willing, please listen, interact, reach out, spread our story. We want to use our funds not just for ourselves and our little family, but to give back to our community. To help and give back to others. But we can’t do that till we get a little more help ourselves.

We want to raise money for multiple reasons, and we want to let you choose which cause you want to donate to. If you are willing and able to donate, we want to ask you to please leave a comment of which cause you want your donation to go to. And we will allocate your amount to that fund.

The Causes We are Raising For

♥️ Our Home

♥️ Our Shop

Our Home:

Our dream is a home in Oregon. We dream of a four bedroom house so that we can have space for our daughter and hopefully, more kids in the future. We want a home that can become our forever home. Something neither of us have had. We want a yard for our dogs and enough room for a garden and some small farm animals. We dream of being more self-sufficient and providing for ourselves. We dream of a house we can make a home. For our kids to grow up in and us to grow old in. To make memories, to keep us safe. We don’t want extravagant or fancy, just comfortable and most of all, stable and safe.

Our Shop:

We dream of opening a shop in Oregon. A shop like any other. We want to create a book, coffee, and metaphysical shop. We dream of creating a safe space for the community where people are free to be themselves. To learn more about themselves, others, the world around them. To heal, to grow. We want to provide Reiki and tarot services. Offer suggestions for herbs, tinctures, balms, and more that can help them feel better in their bodies. We want to help people find what they are passionate about and have a place to explore that. Whether that’s reading a new book, talking with a friend, journaling, writing, researching or more. We want a gathering place, a queer space, an open space. Free of judgment and full of open hearts and minds. We want to support other local businesses with local products in the coffee shop portion of our store. We want to support local artists by having art up on the walls for sale. We want to create the space we dreamed of having ourselves, all our lives.

Thank you!

Love,

Jameson, Grayson & Samantha