Psoriatic Arthritis Insurance Premium

Hi, my name is Tim and I am fundraising for my son's auto-immune disease called Psoriatic Arthritis. He was diagnosed at 8 years old and is now 17. We noticed he had trouble running during a baseball game and took him to his pediatric doctor who recommended a specialist. We then noticed his joints were swollen. Knees, fingers, etc. My wife has psoriasis and so it is genetic. He was soon diagnosed after the rheumatologist visit. This auto-immune disease also affects eye sight if it is gone untreated or unchecked. Our son Ethan is now on a monthly 2 dose injection of Humira. As some of you may know, Humira is expensive. We tried other treatment drugs but found little success for this aggressive disease. Humira keeps his arthritis in remission.

We have decent insurance (Pacific Source) but since my wife and I are both self employed I pay out of pocket for our monthly premiums which is about $1340/mo. I have my own business as a technical recruiter, and as many of you know the tech industry took a nose dive last year. I have been unemployed since June 1, 2023. My wife works as a Pilates Instructor in downtown Portland and we have been living off of savings and her earnings. Humira is $3k per injection (Thank you drug companies) and we have to pay an out of pocket one time yearly premium (January) of $7k.

I paid the premium last year through credit cards but now since I have not worked in 7 months I am out of options and need help. I filed for hardship with my mortgage company and my family who doesn't have much money either hasn't been able to assist. Bills, and insurance are expensive. I do finally have a job prospect but it will take some time to get money together, and not in the time the premium is due. I have never done a Gofundme before and am hopeful this somehow helps us a bit. Here is a link to a video of my son taking about his disease. He was an avid dancer and baseball player before all of this. He still plays golf today, but less strenuous activities are better for him. The video is a little dated, but as a youth ambassador for the Psoriatic Arthritis Foundation we are all very active in raising money for them. Now it is our turn.

Video: https://youtu.be/1o-t0EvDJmY?si=3hyNUc4V1pPTOE_E

Sincerely,

Tim Stafford

Father and Friend