On January 10th, Jason was unexpectedly admitted to UCLA Medical Hospital. 8 days later, he had open heart surgery to save his life. We are trying to raise money so Jason can get back on his feet and not have to push himself before he is ready.

Jason had been uncomfortable health-wise for a little bit. He had seen doctors and had more appointments set up for later in January. One of the issues seemed to be affecting his eyes, and his primary doctor had him go and see an eye specialist. On Jan 10th a friend drove him to that appointment. After running some tests and finding nothing wrong, they sent him that same day to a neurologist who discovered that Jason had experienced some minor strokes. From there, he was taken directly to the ER and admitted to UCLA Hospital.

In the following days, they ran various tests and eventually discovered that a bacteria had grown on one of Jason's heart valves. This kind of growth can get chipped away by the blood flowing out of the heart, enter the bloodstream, and find its way to the brain, which causes strokes and other health issues. On Jan 18th, they performed open heart surgery on Jason to replace his infected valve with a bovine one. The Doctors were very happy with how it went and did not report any issues. After spending another week in the hospital, on Jan 25th, they sent Jason to a Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center. Because of the surgery and the hospital stay, it is very hard for him to move around or walk by himself. He is expected to be at the center for a few weeks as they get him and his muscles to a place where he can go home and take care of himself. He will still need help with taking medication daily via IV and will have to do exercises, but he is expected to be back to 100% health in a few month's time. Many friends have offered to step up and help with his continued care, from getting him food, taking him to doctor visits, and being trained to give him his IV. This could have been much worse, and it all happened so fast, but thanks to the amazing people at UCLA, our friend will fully recover.

Due to the health issues, Jason has not been able to work. The Industry strikes in Los Angeles had already impacted him as well. We want to try to raise enough funds to cover some of his expenses so he can get back on his feet without worrying about his monthly costs and try to cover some of his medical bills, which will start coming in. He does have insurance, but we don't know what it will cover. For those who know Jason well, we know he is a Grump, but he's our Grump and is one of the most caring Grump around. If you can contribute, please consider doing so. His family and friends thank you.