The Batman of Ohara's

Jason is a husband, son, brother and a friend. His greatest joys in life come from being the best dog-dad, your favorite bartender and your go-to movie/tv enthusiast.

Jason brought in the start of 2022 celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ohara’s Pub; Jason’s secondary home, where he has worked for more than half of his life putting smiles and positively impacting so many who walked through those doors.

Jason’s celebratory year took an unexpected turn that landed him in the hospital fighting for his life.

Whether you’re family, friend, patron of the bar or just a random stranger that’s crossed paths long enough to exchange a few words with Jason, you can attest that you have a smile on your face when you’re with him.

He is always positive.

He is always loyal.

He has graciously loved his community and helped anyone who needs it.

Now it’s our time to help our Dark Knight.

The Incident As Told By His Wife

In the late hours of October 23rd, Jason was rushed to the ER by paramedics after falling, and becoming unresponsive/ unconscious. This was all following complaints of a headache/feeling under the weather.

Upon admittance Jason was battling

-Hypertension (high blood pressure)

-V-Tach (irregular heart rhythm)

-Elevated ICP (increased intercarnial pressure)

They rushed him for an initial CT scan while a member of the ER team informed me of the looming uncertainty. The broad spectrum that may await those results… they were waiting to confirm a potential life altering intracranial bleed.

There truly is nothing that can prepare you for getting this type of news, especially when it’s about your best friend, your love.

We waited in the uncertainty of not knowing the full impact of what this bleed could mean. All we knew is Jason could be hospitalized for days, weeks, possibly months and that he would need a considerable amount of hospital care and rehabilitation.

Jason underwent an emergency brain surgery to stop the brain bleeding. The neuro team warned us that with Jason being so young that meant there isn’t much room for his brain to expand and it leaves little to no wiggle room for healing. The best option to give Jason the best odds of pulling through the next crucial 24 hours was installing a hopefully temporary EVD to drain the blood.

From there it was a waiting game to see if the EVD would prove effective and see if the blood would drain while he was intubated and put under sedation.

And we waited…

For 28 days the EVD drained, while being replaced a few times

Jason spent 30 days in an induced coma before the doctors felt comfortable beginning to try to wake him up.

Jason spent a total of 38 days in critical care before being moved to a subacute facility that could provide the appropriate care for him, but also one that would accept him for the still critical condition he was in

The Bumps in Our Road

While weathering this new chapter, Bre has been faced with several burdens/challenges

1)Their insurance not covering a majority of his hospital treatment.

2)The hospital rushing and transferring Jason to the only subacute facility with an open bed, despite Bre telling the hospital no to this facility because of the far distance

    2a)The facility accepted us on the premise that we’d be approved for a secondary insurance (which could take an additional 30 days).

    2b)Our current insurance only covers a short period of time and the rest will be covered by us out of pocket.

    2c)Bre is continuing to advocate for getting the appropriate aftercare her husband needs while their current insurance continues to deny her preferred choices for subacute facilities.

3)Bre has had to continue to advocate for a better facility closer to home that'll give Jason the attention and put his physical therapy and speech therapy on the forefront of his aftercare.

4)Bre recently awaited the decision for Jason's disability and PFL, both are currently being appealed.

Jason Needs Our Help

Please consider contributing to everyone’s favorite Bartender/Batman.

He has a long road of recovery ahead - having to learn how to do basic necessities to live his life again. No donation is too small! You can also support Jason by simply sharing his story.

We want to thank all donors for your generosity during this tough time. We want to be as transparent as possible with where the funds will be allocated - they will help Jason and his wife ease the burdens of incurred medical bills, any future medical bills, acquiring and sustaining long term care/rehab facility and aiding the Gardner family while Jason is Recovering.

This fundraiser was created by Jordan (Jason’s and his wife Bre’s best friend) and all proceeds donated will go straight to Jason and family.