Navy Veteran Jeremy Jones Battles for his Life

Jeremy Michael Jones is a U.S. Navy Veteran served several tours of duty in the first and second Gulf War on the Aircraft Carriers Eisenhower and Truman as Aviation Ordinance First Class Petty Officer. That picture of him was from the cover of “All Hands” the official Navy magazine. After he left the service, he became a Master Auto Technician and works at Firestone Auto here in Port Charlotte. I am the eldest of his three daughters; myself, Alea and Alissa.

He just turned 50 on March 6th, the day after my own birthday. He hadn’t been feeling well for a month before. He had severe stomach pains and couldn’t keep anything down. He had gone to the doctor a couple of weeks before and was treated for gastro-intestinal issues, but the prescription they gave him didn’t help. On Sunday, March 9th he went to Fawcett Hospital ER to get help. At this point he was barley tolerating any food or water for almost a month.

They had started an IV and were going to keep him overnight. As he was talking to the ER doctor, his face turned purple and he suddenly stopped breathing. They began CPR immediately and he was revived after about 46 minutes. Blood tests would later show that his body was so depleted that many things could have caused his collapse, possibly a pulmonary embolism.

He is currently in critical condition in Intensive Care. From the CPR that saved his life, he sustained broken ribs and has a chest tube in his right lung due to a pneumothorax. He is on a ventilator and has multi-system organ failure. He is currently in a medically induced coma. They occasionally adjust the sedation down just enough to check his functionality and he is able to respond by squeezing someone’s hand, wiggling his toes and opening his eyes. They began Slow Efficiency Daily Dialysis because his kidneys weren’t functioning, which has helped considerably. Every day since he started recovery he seems to be getting just a little bit better. However, it seems every time they fix one problem, another one surfaces. One of the things the doctors are now working on is how to save his left hand and his right foot. My dad has always been a strong man and we know that if anyone can push through this, he can.

The team at Fawcett Hospital has been incredible and is going above and beyond to give him the best care for the best outcome possible. Most importantly, he has the support of his family and friends, some of whom have flown in from around the country to support my dad. When I’m not with him in his ICU room, a family member is always with him 24/7. His mom, Cecilia and I have figured out a schedule where at least one of us is here at all times.

This GoFundMe has been set up to help cover any medical expenses that we will face as well as making sure his personal bills are paid. We are looking at most likely a pretty intense rehabilitation after he gets discharged.

Due to him being sick prior to this hospitalization, my dad was already out of work for a while. We are asking our friends and family and people in the community to donate anything if possible, and even if you cannot to please send your prayers to our family that my dad will make it through this.

- Lexi Jones