Help Josh "Pookie" Quijada after his stroke!

On August 1, Josh Quijada had a stroke while on a walk with his girlfriend. It was 10 days before his 35th birthday.

Josh has been described as both "extremely unlucky and extremely lucky" by his incredible medical team at Washington Hospital Center. Upon arrival, they discovered that Josh not only had a stroke, but also had a massive clot in his leg and was suffering from a bilateral pulmonary embolism, meaning both of his lungs had blood clots. Josh will likely be on blood thinners for the rest of his life and may require surgery later to close a hole in his heart.

The 'extremely lucky' part is that Josh is alive, walking, talking and expected to make a full recovery! He made it into the ER on time to have the blood clot causing the stroke removed from his brain without causing further damage, and his doctors were able to find the rest of the blood clots. After six days, Josh was released from the hospital. He is profoundly fortunate to be alive.

As we all know, hospital stays and ambulance rides are expensive, and Josh has a long road ahead of him as his doctors try to nail down what caused a healthy 34-year-old to have a stroke - and make sure it never happens again.

Many of you reading this will know Josh as "Pookie" from his many years working at Lyman's Tavern and, previously, Flying Fish. He's known as a hard-working colleague who looks out for his patrons with warmth and respect. Josh has often told me about how much he appreciates the industry for looking after its own, and we are so grateful for any financial support as he takes time to build his strength and heal.

The money will go to medical bills and if, by some miracle, there's any leftover, his education. He recently enrolled in classes at the University of Maryland to complete his bachelor's and eventually become a librarian.

Josh deserves a long, happy and healthy life with his rescue cat Bertolt and we cannot thank you enough for your love and support.