Help with medical expenses for Jeff Kracun

On January 12th, my step-dad Jeff arrived here in Boston for a visit with my family. A delayed Christmas celebration, and a chance to finally watch his grandkids wrestle, in person.

Shortly after Jeff arrived here in Boston, he began experiencing stroke like symptoms. He went to the ER and they decided to admit him for further testing. While waiting on results, his symptoms continued to worsen. He was losing his ability to move his arms and legs and having trouble talking, chewing or swallowing. On January 14th Jeff was diagnosed with Guillian-Barre Syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare disorder in which your body's immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your hands and feet are usually the first symptoms. There's no known cure for Guillain-Barre syndrome, but several treatments can ease symptoms and reduce the duration of the illness. Although most people recover completely from Guillain-Barre syndrome, recovery may take up to several years. Most people are able to walk again six months after symptoms first started.

Guillian Barre can affect your system in many different ways. After a rapid decline, Jeff was admitted to the ICU on January 15th. His body was under imense stress trying to combat the effects of the GBS, and he began experiencing shortess of beath and chest pains regularly. Soon after, he had his first cardiac episode. The doctors discoverd, that on top of the GBS, Jeff also needed a new heart valve. They thought they should wait until Jeff was able to recover more from the symptoms of his GBS before going in to do the surgery. Days later Jeff had a second cardiac episode. and the doctors were no longer comfortable waiting. They went in to repair his valve only to discover an anomoly in his valve that prevented them from replacing it at that time. They were able to stretch the valve, and get the blood flowing better which allowed Jeff to start working on getting stronger and combating some of the effects of his GBS.

Jeff was in ICU for just over five weeks and has recently been at a local rehab facility, doing everything he can to get better. He has a long battle ahead of him, but he has been working extremely hard to gain his strength back, and he is finally able to eat real food again! He will be meeting with his Cardiac Surgeon at the beginning of March to discuss his open heart surgery to the replce his valve.

Even with insurance, the medical bills are astronomical. Any little bit could help. Thank you so much for your continued prayers, phone calls to check in, cards in the mail and all the love and support.