Hello! My name is Bobbi McCoy and I am trying to raise money for our friends John and Pam Theabo to help cover mounting expenses related to John's long term struggle with medical issues.

Currently, John has Autoimmune Encephalitis. (AE), a rare, debilitating disease in which the immune system causes inflammation of spinal fluid and affects the brain. AE has provoked loss of memory, cognition, comprehension & speech and it stole his balance & coordination so he couldn’t walk. John was diagnosed in September 2021, after showing symptoms for several months.

John needed 24/7 supervision for his safety, but to maintain health insurance, his wife Pam has to work full time, so she had to hire private caregivers for John. In-home caregivers are not covered by insurance and the reputable services charge about $30/hour – almost twice of what she earns. This killed their savings accounts.

There is no local specialist who treats AE in the Appleton WI area. The closest expert is 250 miles from their home at the Mayo Clinic, which isn’t covered by John’s insurance. He was fortunate to find a Neurology MS Specialist at UW Madison, only 100 miles from home, who was familiar and willing to treat him.

John’s treatment for AE began with corticosteroids (prednisone), which he was on for over a year. The treatment succeeded in suppressing his immune system, relieving the inflammation and his symptoms improved. Steroids, however, have horrible side effects. They weakened his bones and destroyed his muscle tissue. That, combined with his loss of balance, resulted in multiple falls, numerous broken bones including 6 spinal fractures, and most recently, Osteoradionecrosis (ORN). ORN is bone death caused by radiation to treat cancer – which John had in 2014. The radiation killed the cancer in his head and neck, but it also began the slow death of his jawbone. The steroid-weakened bones sped up that death, and John now needs to have his lower mandible amputated, grafted and reconstructed – while still battling Autoimmune Encephalitis. This is a major surgery, which is also not performed locally, so John will need to spend 8-12 days in UW Hospital, 100 miles from home.

John also has Autoimmune Thrombocytopenic Thrombotic Purpura (ATTP) a rare, serious blood disease that causes a dangerous decrease in the number of blood platelets, abnormal destruction of red blood cells and disturbances in the nervous system and other organs occur as a result of small clots that form in the smallest arteries. Since the treatment for ATTP, another autoimmune disorder, is much the same as the treatment for AE, John’s ATTP is in remission.

Pam is doing everything she can to continue to keep John alive, but I'm asking for your help. Any amount, big or small will help. Please consider donating to this cause which is very close to my heart. Thank you.