My husband, John Berg, suffered a debilitating stroke on July 28, 2015.  He's only 56.  We thought everything was finally running along a smooth path; I graduated from WVU Parkersburg with a bachelor's degree and a GPA of 3.94 last year at the age of 57, and I had landed my dream job as a division secretary at my alma mater a few weeks later.  John had been working at a recycling plant after also graduating from college with an associate's degree, and we finally were seeing financial daylight for the first time since I lost my 20-year-old business in 2008.  

The bad news continues to pile up for us since his illness began.  The damage to the left side of John's brain  is extensive, and it has sevely affected his ability to understand and use language.  He will probably never work again.  He has been receiving short-term disability payments through his work, but at a rate of only 60% of his usual pay, and this Friday will mark the last of those checks and his job will be gone as of September 7.  He was three days away from his official anniversary with Reynolds, so he is not eligible for long-term disability.  Because we both spent much of the past ten years liquidating my company assets to pay off business debts, and then earning GEDs and attending college, he is also not eligible for Social Security disability.  In the meantime, even with my public employee health insurance, we are facing a deductible and co-pay that exceeds $4,000.00.  Right now that might as well be $40,000.00 because we have no way to come up with that kind of money.

As difficult as it is for me to admit I need help, I find that pride is a luxury I can no longer afford.  We need help, and we are discovering that, while people find "Let me know if you need anything" easy to say, very few actually mean it.  GoFundMe is my last hope.  

Please help us, and I promise to pay it forward for the rest of my life.