Help me help my brother
Donation protected
Please Help Me Help My Brother
My name is Frank and I'm James "Jimmy" Tolly's older brother. Jimmy is, and always will be, one of the kindest, most caring people I know. He is definitely the kindest person in my family. This thoughtful man is now in need of the generosity of others.
Jimmy was born with significant health issues, and although he grew out of most of them, his heart has never been at 100%. At the age of 27 he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and had a pacemaker implanted. At the time, the doctors said he would probably live another eight to ten years without a heart transplant. Well, he proved those doctors wrong and has managed to live another 20 years.
Unfortunately, Jimmy's heart is wearing out. In January of this year, Jimmy was admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota where he was told that his heart was functioning at 15% of normal operation. In addition, the strain on other organs was causing partial kidney failure. The Mayo Clinic did an amazing job of getting the fluid that had built up around his heart and lungs down to a manageable level (40 pounds of fluid was removed). While those efforts meant Jimmy’s kidneys are doing better, the time has come where a heart transplant is now a necessity.
It was difficult enough to learn that Jimmy will need a new heart, but our family was devastated to learn that Jimmy would need to raise $50,000 just to get on the donor list. Once on the donor list, he would need to have another $500,000 to pay for his portion of the surgery and hospital bills. This amount does not include the tens of thousands of dollars in monthly medications that are necessary to ensure that Jimmy’s body does not reject the new heart.
The simple truth is neither Jimmy nor our family members have that kind of money, and I'm sure no one who reads this does either. My younger brother is sick, he needs help, and I can't do it on my own. If our situations were reversed, Jimmy would do everything in his power to help me raise the funds needed to keep going. Putting others first is what Jimmy has done his whole life.
Recently, I spent a week at Jimmy's home in Mobridge, South Dakota, and realized all over again just how special my brother is. Whether it's that big grin he gets right before he decides to tease you, or the twinkle in his eyes when he's happy you came to see him, Jimmy is all heart. I love him with all of my being, and if I could, I would give him my own heart. At the end of the day, Jimmy is a better man than I am and deserves more time with his family and friends.
Everyone would agree that things are tough for all of us so I’m not asking anyone to donate thousands or hundreds of dollars, unless you really want to and can afford that. My hopes and prayers are that you will give what you can spare. If that amount is a dollar, then that is one more dollar closer to reaching our goal, and a dollar's worth of hope Jimmy didn't have yesterday. We understand if you are unable to donate at this time. If that’s the case, would you please share this request with anyone and everyone you know. The more people we reach the odds go up that we will reach our goal.
Please help me to help my brother.
My name is Frank and I'm James "Jimmy" Tolly's older brother. Jimmy is, and always will be, one of the kindest, most caring people I know. He is definitely the kindest person in my family. This thoughtful man is now in need of the generosity of others.
Jimmy was born with significant health issues, and although he grew out of most of them, his heart has never been at 100%. At the age of 27 he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and had a pacemaker implanted. At the time, the doctors said he would probably live another eight to ten years without a heart transplant. Well, he proved those doctors wrong and has managed to live another 20 years.
Unfortunately, Jimmy's heart is wearing out. In January of this year, Jimmy was admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota where he was told that his heart was functioning at 15% of normal operation. In addition, the strain on other organs was causing partial kidney failure. The Mayo Clinic did an amazing job of getting the fluid that had built up around his heart and lungs down to a manageable level (40 pounds of fluid was removed). While those efforts meant Jimmy’s kidneys are doing better, the time has come where a heart transplant is now a necessity.
It was difficult enough to learn that Jimmy will need a new heart, but our family was devastated to learn that Jimmy would need to raise $50,000 just to get on the donor list. Once on the donor list, he would need to have another $500,000 to pay for his portion of the surgery and hospital bills. This amount does not include the tens of thousands of dollars in monthly medications that are necessary to ensure that Jimmy’s body does not reject the new heart.
The simple truth is neither Jimmy nor our family members have that kind of money, and I'm sure no one who reads this does either. My younger brother is sick, he needs help, and I can't do it on my own. If our situations were reversed, Jimmy would do everything in his power to help me raise the funds needed to keep going. Putting others first is what Jimmy has done his whole life.
Recently, I spent a week at Jimmy's home in Mobridge, South Dakota, and realized all over again just how special my brother is. Whether it's that big grin he gets right before he decides to tease you, or the twinkle in his eyes when he's happy you came to see him, Jimmy is all heart. I love him with all of my being, and if I could, I would give him my own heart. At the end of the day, Jimmy is a better man than I am and deserves more time with his family and friends.
Everyone would agree that things are tough for all of us so I’m not asking anyone to donate thousands or hundreds of dollars, unless you really want to and can afford that. My hopes and prayers are that you will give what you can spare. If that amount is a dollar, then that is one more dollar closer to reaching our goal, and a dollar's worth of hope Jimmy didn't have yesterday. We understand if you are unable to donate at this time. If that’s the case, would you please share this request with anyone and everyone you know. The more people we reach the odds go up that we will reach our goal.
Please help me to help my brother.
Organizer and beneficiary
Frank Perrin
Organizer
Mobridge, SD
Mariah Paquet
Beneficiary