Help JB with transplant medical bills

I'm JB's daughter, Jenna, creating this GoFundMe on his behalf. My dad has been struggling with medical problems stemming from fatty liver disease for many years. Up until this past year, doctors were treating his symptoms (mainly fluid build up) with paracentesis procedures and a cocktail of medications; however, those treatments were short-term solutions to a much larger problem.

In November 2020 just before Thanksgiving, my dad was hospitalized after suffering complications and worsening health. His liver failing caused severe brain fog/confusion and made him too weak to move around on his own. The following months became a roller coaster in terms of his health- there were weeks where we could talk to him normally and he could get up with fairly little assistance, and there were weeks where his confusion was so severe he would hallucinate and not be able to communicate or stand on his own.

He was often in and out of the hospital after some scary incidents where he had attempted to use the bathroom alone at night and fallen on the floor. The doctors shared with us that it would have been best for him to be in a transitional care facility during those months, but the pandemic complicated things and we were unable to provide him with that kind of care. Instead, my brothers stepped up and took turns temporarily moving into my grandpa's house where my dad was staying to help with his needs. I came by often but couldn't care for him entirely since I couldn't lift him out of a chair myself. I am extremely grateful for my brothers Andy and Johnny for the constant care they provided for months on end, and for my grandpa who stayed on top of administering his medications and scheduling appointments.

Thankfully after a long winter of hardships, medicine, and physical therapy, he was approved to have a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. His sister, Ginni, underwent extensive testing and found she was a match to become a donor. She very graciously gave him the gift of a longer life by donating 65% of her liver to him. Both of their surgeries took place this past Monday (March 22nd) which went very well. They are both still hospitalized, but out of the ICU ahead of schedule. I will provide updates on this page as they progress.

Though the worst is over for my dad, he will still need a lot of medical attention over the following months and will be on anti-rejection medications for the rest of his life. After being in and out of the hospital so often and having surgery, his medical bills have become a new challenge. I am creating this post because so many of his coworkers have reached out to him wanting to help out, to which I have to say thank you so much to all of you. To those who are not able to donate but would like to send kind words to him, please feel free to reach out to him or myself. He has a great attitude that can be attributed to so many friends sending him love and prayers, and he greatly appreciates knowing that he is loved and cared for. To my friends and coworkers who have checked in with me on his condition, thank you. Lastly, a special thanks to Jody for navigating his medical leave and so many other things at work for him. My brothers and I appreciate that so much. 

Thank you all for reading and stay tuned for updates.