John Stalmaster- Medical Bills and Wheelchair Van

Hi, My Name is Jessica Violett and I am writing this fundraiser on behalf of my friends, John Stalmaster and Nicole Harris. On July 6, 2021, at 43 years young, John had a sudden onset of a seizure due to an unforeseen rupture of an AVM in his brain. An Arteriovenous malformation, (AVM) is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, usually in the brain or spine. The arteries and veins in an arteriovenous malformation can rupture, causing bleeding into the brain or spinal cord. This condition is Rare- Fewer than 200,000 US cases per year.

911 was called and he needed an emergency Craniotomy. Nobody could have imagined the challenges that lied ahead! He was not expected to make it through the surgery, but he did! On July 12, a feeding tube was placed and it was not until July 14th that John opened his eyes for the first time since the lifesaving operation and a trach was placed on July 15. On August 24, John was released from the hospital and into a rehab facility. On August 29, 2021, John began having seizures again and ended up being transferred from the rehab back in the hospital. It wasn’t until September 14th that they discovered he had two new bleeds. On October 7, 2021 he was back into the rehab and again on October 24 back into the hospital for yet again, more seizures. He had a crainioplasty on October 29, 2021, with hopes to help regain some function and was once again discharged into yet another rehab on November 5, 2021. It was then that John was opening his eyes and responding to simple commands.

By February 22 of 2022, John has been through several septic incidents, has little to no communication and has been back-and-forth to the ER due to urinary tract infections several times. Hopice nurse was consulted at this time but before the decision was made, John miraculously Woke up on his own on February 24, 2022, just 2 days later and he was trying to communicate! It was March 5 of 2022, that John was learning to type to communicate, although he had no idea what had happened to him just short of a full year ago. But unfortunately the struggle continued and he had along way to go. He was admitted to yet another rehabilitation center. The new rehab started to get him moving he gain enough strength to hold himself up by June 8. He had his trach removed and had a procedure to fix his vocal cords and learn how to swallow -so he could eat solid foods again and get his feeding tube removed. On July 19th 2022 John finally came home, but just short of a month later, John started having seizures again and was rushed back to the hospital. He underwent another angiogram and gamma knife radiation to hopefully get rid of the AVM once and for all.

I have put this fundraiser together on behalf of John and Nicole, (his longtime fiancé), who has gracefully stood by his side, every single step of the way, without asking for a single bit of help from anyone, all while raising 2 kids through Covid pandemic and working full time job to make ends meet. The medical bills are piling up and with John not being able to walk, as he is still wheelchair bound, requires in-home healthcare daily, and still needs extensive medical care, such as PT/ OT and transportation to appointments plus in home care for as long as it takes. Insurance has stopped paying for much of this. John also needs a proper wheelchair ramp, and an ADA accessible bathroom, and the very least and a wheelchair van because transferring him to and from is EXTREMELY difficult and dangerous for Nicole, and insurance isn’t paying for this anymore. Raising this money will help out with the extraordinary past medical expenses as well, plus the ongoing medical expenses that John will need to continue to survive and hopefully relearn how to walk. He still has a VERY long way to go, 2 years into this fight and this is long overdue help for them. Please help me give Nicole and John the break they so desperately need and truly deserve, by making the financial portion just a little bit easier, so they can continue the fight for John’s best quality of life. Nicole wouldn’t dare ask for this on her own but she needs a wheelchair van, and John deserves the best quality of life possible! For he is a tremendous fighter, but will need the long time continued care, physical therapy and occupational therapy to relearn how to do everything including walk. Thank you for taking the time to read, pray, hope and support this go fund me!

Thank you! Jessica