Jeff Bailey's Memorial Fund
Donation protected
This gofundme page has been set up to help offset costs for my mother related to my brother's rehab and medical treatment that was accrued in the past year. Please read on for more information on his story and recent journey.
For those of you who knew my brother, you know what I know--that he was a funny, kind, quick witted, artistic, and a big-hearted guy. This amazing guy who could make anyone feel loved and who could make a whole room laugh in about 2 seconds was dealing with some demons in his life. In recent years, he has battled an addiction and throughout his whole life, the lovable seemingly happy guy also battled depression. He could never see in himself what the rest of us already knew and unfortunately, on the evening of January 10 or early morning hours of January 11, the bright light that was my brother left this earth.
Jeff's serious addiction issues started years ago but it wasn't until March 2016 that we realized exactly how bad his addiction was. We received a phone call that my brother was in the ICU with complications from drug use. We hadn't seen my brother in years and when my mom and I showed up, he did not look like the Jeffrey that I knew. He was shrunken and emaciated with an extremely swollen arm where an infection had set in. It turned out he had MRSA and things were not looking good. He was placed on a feeding tube and only moaned or woke up up here and there. He was in the hospital for 1.5 months and after that first week, my mom and I took turns traveling to be with him. My whole life Jeff has apparently thought that my job was to be his personal back scratcher so, of course, I spent hours rubbing his back and trying to make him comfortable. We were scared that we would lose him and then even more scared about what would happen when/if he got out.
Luckily, he was released and my mom got him into treatment. Jeff went to a wonderful rehab but it cost her $20,000 for one month of treatment and, unfortunately, this wonderful care in that short amount of time was not enough to help him fight off this addiction. Upon getting out, Jeff did well for a bit but relapsed and, at some point, he returned to Virginia where he was picked up for prior drug possession charges. We were scared that he was in jail but hopeful that this may help him. He was in jail from September to December and at some point he reached out...he wanted to come "home" and to get clean. Jeff made a great list of goals and plans and he knew that he needed to get away from the individuals in Virginia that were pulling him in.
My mom picked him up in early December and drove him on the 4-5 hour trip back and forth 3 additional times for his probation meetings. During this time, he was looking so much better, behaving more like the Jeff we knew, reconnecting with his son, and helping my mom by working around her house. Unfortunately, the pull of his addiction, coupled with the depression he has always dealth with, got the better of him. He relapsed and overdosed and lost his life and we have lost the most precious gift we had--his love and laughter. We are left with an empty hole in our hearts and a sadness that can never be replaced and my mother is left with a great debt for rehab that was not enough to help my brother with this addiction.
Many are asking what they can do and how they can help. In lieu of flowers, I have set up this page to help my mom with the great amount of debt she has accrued this year. Namely, the rehab that she is currently paying off, but there was so much more than that--she took off several weeks to be with him in the hospital, spent much on traveling, had to cover fees associated with his medical and mental health and provide for him as he came to us with nothing but the clothes on his back. The plan was for Jeff to get on his feet and eventually help to pay some of this but that is not possible now. He had also started to help her by doing some work around her house--items that are left unfinished and are sore reminders of what great work he could do when he put his mind to it. These were Jeff's ways of helping to pay back this debt and I think he would be greatly honored for anyone who is able to assist in his honor to do so. Therefore, on his behalf I ask you to consider making a donation in his name to help our mom.
For those of you who knew my brother, you know what I know--that he was a funny, kind, quick witted, artistic, and a big-hearted guy. This amazing guy who could make anyone feel loved and who could make a whole room laugh in about 2 seconds was dealing with some demons in his life. In recent years, he has battled an addiction and throughout his whole life, the lovable seemingly happy guy also battled depression. He could never see in himself what the rest of us already knew and unfortunately, on the evening of January 10 or early morning hours of January 11, the bright light that was my brother left this earth.
Jeff's serious addiction issues started years ago but it wasn't until March 2016 that we realized exactly how bad his addiction was. We received a phone call that my brother was in the ICU with complications from drug use. We hadn't seen my brother in years and when my mom and I showed up, he did not look like the Jeffrey that I knew. He was shrunken and emaciated with an extremely swollen arm where an infection had set in. It turned out he had MRSA and things were not looking good. He was placed on a feeding tube and only moaned or woke up up here and there. He was in the hospital for 1.5 months and after that first week, my mom and I took turns traveling to be with him. My whole life Jeff has apparently thought that my job was to be his personal back scratcher so, of course, I spent hours rubbing his back and trying to make him comfortable. We were scared that we would lose him and then even more scared about what would happen when/if he got out.
Luckily, he was released and my mom got him into treatment. Jeff went to a wonderful rehab but it cost her $20,000 for one month of treatment and, unfortunately, this wonderful care in that short amount of time was not enough to help him fight off this addiction. Upon getting out, Jeff did well for a bit but relapsed and, at some point, he returned to Virginia where he was picked up for prior drug possession charges. We were scared that he was in jail but hopeful that this may help him. He was in jail from September to December and at some point he reached out...he wanted to come "home" and to get clean. Jeff made a great list of goals and plans and he knew that he needed to get away from the individuals in Virginia that were pulling him in.
My mom picked him up in early December and drove him on the 4-5 hour trip back and forth 3 additional times for his probation meetings. During this time, he was looking so much better, behaving more like the Jeff we knew, reconnecting with his son, and helping my mom by working around her house. Unfortunately, the pull of his addiction, coupled with the depression he has always dealth with, got the better of him. He relapsed and overdosed and lost his life and we have lost the most precious gift we had--his love and laughter. We are left with an empty hole in our hearts and a sadness that can never be replaced and my mother is left with a great debt for rehab that was not enough to help my brother with this addiction.
Many are asking what they can do and how they can help. In lieu of flowers, I have set up this page to help my mom with the great amount of debt she has accrued this year. Namely, the rehab that she is currently paying off, but there was so much more than that--she took off several weeks to be with him in the hospital, spent much on traveling, had to cover fees associated with his medical and mental health and provide for him as he came to us with nothing but the clothes on his back. The plan was for Jeff to get on his feet and eventually help to pay some of this but that is not possible now. He had also started to help her by doing some work around her house--items that are left unfinished and are sore reminders of what great work he could do when he put his mind to it. These were Jeff's ways of helping to pay back this debt and I think he would be greatly honored for anyone who is able to assist in his honor to do so. Therefore, on his behalf I ask you to consider making a donation in his name to help our mom.
Organizer and beneficiary
Katelyn Donna Rooney
Organizer
Reisterstown, MD
Kathy Wolffe
Beneficiary