In 1988, as a senior at Wake Forest University I was involved in a  devastating car accident that resulted in me becoming a quadrapelgic. After 8 months of recovery and intense rehabilitation I was able to return to Wake Forest and graduate. My first job out of college was to work for a major corporation in order to get insurance to cover a person with pre-existing conditions. After a year of working for that large corporation I was offered the opportunity to purchase a small business named Ziggy's. Ziggys's was a small bar in my town that specialized at producing live entertainment. Because I had a great fondness for live entertainment and due to my disability which precluded me from travelling to see bands I decided to purchase the bar. Over the last 23 years Ziggy's has not only provided me with a great income and independence as a working quadrapelgic, it has also employed and funded many of my closest friends.

In March of 2015 I decided to have an elective corrective surgery on my leg. Unfortunately six weeks into my recovery I was diagnosed with vocal chord cancer. The radiation treatments for my cancer caused complications in the healing process of my leg,  resulting  in 5 additional surgeries over the last twelve months including a final surgery to remove my cancerous vocal chord. 

Because of the surgeries and the down time from not working, I have not only not had income from my business I have amassed a great number of medical bills and must continue to pay for a daily caregiver. This has now become insurmountable so a number of my friends have come to me and felt that asking for help via GoFundMe would be a great way to help me to recover not only physically but financially. I want to get back to working so I can not only support myself but all my friends who need work as well that I have provided to the community through live entertainment for the last 23 years.

I know that I will never be able to thank everyone one for their help but I am truly grateful for your support.