My name is Mark Runge. I am 67 years old . I have been married for 18 years and I have 2 daughters aged 15 and 13.

I have worked 2 jobs to support my family for 18 years- one in civil rights and another as a barteder on weekends at Buzzard Beach in the Westport entertainment district in Kansas City, MO. I have worked there for 37 years and over 42 years in Westport.

A couple weeks ago I was driving my youngest daughter and her friend home on a Tuesday night when suddenly I felt very lost. After that I didn't remember anything until I woke up in the hospital 2 days later. I was in the ICU for several days and in the hospital for almost 2 weeks with my family left to fend for themselves with no transportation. This week our church is helping us with transportation to school. While I was in the ICU one of my daughters was hospitalized without anyone telling me but she is now home. The hospital has still not made a determination of exactly what caused my state of confusion but the effects were similar to those of a stroke. The hospital indicated that I will need some rehab before returning to my day job. I no longer feel safe to drive at night for fear of the same thing happening again and I am being forced to retire from my part-time bartender job that was being used for clothes and groceries for my family. I will miss my co-workers and thousands of regular customers who in many cases have become my friends and in some cases like members of my family.

I hate to ask for help but this is putting a great hardship on me and my family. I do have health insurance but there will still be medical expenses for myself and my daughter. Damages to my vehicle will be expensive to repair and the costs for rides here's are already causing problems. I haven't been able to take my daughters to school or to their other activities like ballet and piano. Without my second income im going to have difficulty paying for groceries, activities and clothing for my daughters. Please help me get on my feet again if you are able and may God bless you all. I don't know what im going to do about Christmas.