Help James “NDN” Gardner Stay Home With His Sons in His Final Days

For nearly two years, James “NDN” Gardner has been fighting to keep his life together while his health slowly took away his ability to work.

Now he is fighting to keep his home.

James is a father of three, a proud Kiowa man, a son, a friend, and one of the hardest-working people I have ever known.

For most of his life, James worked. He provided for his family. He took care of the people around him.

Then a rare and debilitating skin disorder changed everything.

The condition became severe enough that James could no longer work. He applied for disability benefits because his health had taken away his ability to earn a living.

He was denied.

So he appealed.

And waited.

And fought.

For more than 18 months—now approaching two years—James has been trying to navigate the disability process while living without the income he once earned and watching the bills continue to pile up.

But what makes this story even harder is that James wasn't only dealing with his own health.

During this same chapter of his life, James was also the primary caregiver for his mother as she battled cancer.

Even while his own body was failing him, he was still taking care of someone else.

That is who NDN is.

He is the person who shows up.

He has been my best friend for more than 20 years. He stood beside me as the best man at my wedding. He watched my daughters grow up.

Whenever life went sideways and I needed help, James never asked what was in it for him.

He simply showed up.

And now, after spending so much of his life showing up for everyone else, he needs people to show up for him.

Then Everything Got Worse

While James was still fighting through the disability process, his health deteriorated further.

Then came the diagnosis none of us were prepared for:

Terminal liver failure.

James went from fighting to regain some stability in his life to confronting the reality that his time may now be limited.

And somehow, in the middle of all of this, he is still being forced to navigate disability paperwork, medical care, mounting bills, and the possible loss of his home.

His illness has already taken away his ability to work.

It has taken away his health.

It has taken away the future he thought he had.

We are trying to keep it from taking his home too.

What We Are Fighting For

James's home has fallen into foreclosure.

We need approximately $19,000 to bring the mortgage current and stop the foreclosure.

This isn't about protecting an investment.

It isn't about buying something new.

It isn't about making James's life easier.

It is about something far more basic.

We are trying to give a terminally ill father the dignity of remaining in his own home with his three sons for whatever time he has left.

When someone receives a terminal diagnosis, the people who love them should be talking about family, memories, comfort, and making the most of the time that remains.

They shouldn't be sitting around a kitchen table trying to figure out how to stop a foreclosure.

James doesn't want anything extravagant.

He wants to be home.

Home with his boys.

Home with his family.

Home with his friends.

Home in the place where his children know their dad.

That is what we are fighting to preserve.

How Did This Happen?

I know there are people who see a foreclosure fundraiser and naturally wonder how someone got this far behind.

The answer isn't complicated.

James worked until his health would no longer allow him to work.

A rare medical condition took away his ability to earn a living.

He did what people in that situation are supposed to do: he applied for disability.

He was denied.

He kept fighting.

Months became more than a year.

More than a year became nearly two.

And while James waited for the disability system to reach a resolution, there was no pause button on his mortgage, utilities, medical expenses, food, or the everyday cost of keeping a family going.

Then, before that fight was even resolved, James became terminally ill.

This foreclosure isn't the result of someone giving up.

It is the result of a man becoming too sick to work while spending nearly two years trying to get the assistance he applied for.

We Don't Need One Person to Save His Home

We need a lot of people to do something small.

If 1,000 people gave $19, we could reach $19,000.

If you can give $5, it matters.

If you can give $10, it matters.

If you can give $19, $25, $50, $100, or more, it matters.

Every donation moves us closer to keeping James and his sons in their home.

And if you cannot donate, please share this fundraiser.

Share it with someone who knows NDN.

Share it with someone who worked beside him.

Share it with the Ironworkers community.

Share it throughout Azle, Springtown, Lake Worth, and the surrounding communities.

Share it with members of the Kiowa community.

Share it with someone who has spent months or years fighting through the disability process.

Share it with someone who has watched cancer or terminal illness change a family overnight.

Because one share can reach someone we could never reach ourselves.

I Can't Change His Diagnosis

There are things I desperately wish I could fix for my friend.

I can't give James his health back.

I can't erase the last two years.

I can't undo his terminal diagnosis.

And I can't give him more time.

But maybe together we can help determine where he gets to spend that time.

Maybe we can make sure he spends it in the home he knows.

With his sons.

With his family.

Surrounded by people who love him.

Without the fear that the roof over their heads will disappear at the moment they need it most.

Most of you call him a friend.

His boys call him Dad.

I call him my best friend.

And right now, I'm asking people to help me show up for James the way he has spent his life showing up for everyone else.

Please donate if you can.

Please share if you can't.

Even one dollar moves us closer to keeping NDN and his boys in their home.

Thank you for helping us show up for NDN the way he has always shown up for us.