I met Kenny many years ago when he came to work for me in a children's center, the second one for Kenny and his wife.  He and Kathy were great employees and when we quit working together, we stayed friends.  Kenny is one of my husband's best friends and has been a real right hand to him for many years.  A year ago, this past summer Kenny had an oral surgical procedure done and he immediately started having a hard time talking.   We all thought the issue was caused by the procedure unfortunately; he wasn’t able to get any resolution from the surgeon or his office.  After about a year, he was finally referred to a physician in Houston to see what else might be going on.  Last summer Kenny finally found out what was wrong; he was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease.  He and Kathy have always worked hard and cherished what they worked for.  When the big fire happened in 2011 in Bastrop County, they lost everything and had to start over.  The picture shared in the link is of Kenny and shows what remained of their house after the fire.   Two years ago, Kenny and Kathy bought a house that needed a lot of work, thinking they had plenty of time to fix it up.  Kenny (with some help from his friends) planned to fix the foundation and then fix the rest of the house a little at a time but at the rate his disease is progressing, that is no longer possible.  Kenny’s motor skills have decreased rapidly and often he is barely able to walk.  Kathy would love to move closer to family but Kenny wants to stay here where he can fish and hunt while he can.   We would like to help them fix the house so that Kenny can focus on his health and so he knows Kathy will always have a home.  We have had people come and give us estimates for the foundation repair, fixing or replacing all cracked sheet rock inside the house, taping and floating the sheet rock, repainting the whole house both inside and outside and repairs to the two storage buildings.  The bids came to right at $20,000.  Kenny should have immediately qualified for Medicare but to date he has not been approved.   He has applied and been rejected several times for both disability and medical coverage.  Kathy knows she will just have to keep fighting to get Kenny the help promised by the state, but in the meantime, the medical bills are piling up.  Since they need help right away, we are asking for an additional $5000.00 to help them with those costs while they continue to pursue medical help through the federal programs.   I would be so grateful to get this house fixed for them so that Kathy will not have to worry about anything but helping her husband through this terrible disease, knowing that she is being taken care of by her friends and family.  My husband will supervise and contract out the work and he and his friends will also help with the work where they can.  I would be deeply grateful for your help and generosity; these are good people and will be equally grateful for your helping hands.