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Help Save Jill 'Cause She Saved Tim

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Our friend, Jill Patrick, needs us right now. She has always been a rock – a woman who could handle any type of stressful situation with compassion, courage, and wisdom. When we’re in trouble, she is the one to whom so many of us turn. If we haven’t personally leaned on Jill, we certainly know someone who has. We all know Jill is reluctant to ask for help because . . . well . . . she’s Jill! Asking for assistance on a personal (not professional) level is very hard for her to do. That is why her friends are doing this for her.

We are trying to raise $9,000. We started this campaign with a goal of $3,000 for fear asking for the full amount of $9,000 would be asking too much. But in just a few days, and a few dozen friends and loved ones, we've surpassed that goal and we're half-way to the total goal, so we're taking a chance and hoping people will still want to help end the cruelty of medical debt this summer for Jill and her family!

Jill recently suffered what is called a Silent Heart Attack. That’s not all. She was also diagnosed with RADS (Reactive Airway Disease). Still more has happened in the last few months. Skin cancers were removed surgically. We are happy to say she is cancer free right now, but not free of the bills. On the horizon is a potential liver disease. (We’ll know after an ultrasound next week.) Most of us already know she has been a Type 1 (Insulin Dependent) Diabetic for 35 years, diagnosed while she was on Active Duty with the U. S. Navy just short of her 22nd birthday.

So . . . what put Jill in debt before the silent heart attack and all these other health issues came to light? The answer involves a family dynamic going back to Jill’s childhood which was spent in working class poverty. She is the third and last child of a father who was a construction worker and a homemaker mother who sewed every stitch of her kids’ clothing until they were in middle school and rebelled. Her father died in a construction accident when Jill was barely 11; her mother died of lung cancer when Jill was newly 26.

Please watch the video for insight into Jill’s family life and an emergency that arose with her brother, Tim, on May 28, 2018. It was this emergency trip to save Tim’s life that put Jill into a deep financial hole and brought on her Silent Heart Attack.

On May 28, 2018, Jill received a call that her brother Tim (who lives in Washington State) was near death. Late in Tim’s life, he was diagnosed as Schizo-Effective Bi-polar. The diagnosis happened when he was in prison for trying to kill a man he believed was a child molester. Tim served his time. His mental illness explained why a man with a genius IQ spent much of his adult life homeless. The good news is: He is on his medication and has found accommodations in a facility dedicated to people with illnesses that disable them. By all accounts, Tim is consistent with his medical regime and other routine needs since he has been in permanent housing.

Throughout Tim's life, it has been Jill, the good sister, who always rushes to his side. This crisis was no different.

This emergency trip required Jill to skip shopping for the best airfare from Atlanta to Seattle. Getting there as soon as possible was paramount. Once in Seattle, she had to rent a hotel room near Virginia Mason Hospital where Tim was struggling to survive. Unknown to the rest of the people in his facility, he had passed out inside his apartment which caused him to go without his insulin for two days which brought on a diabetic coma. It was believed Tim had had a heart attack. His neighbor and friend, Ricky, convinced someone to open the door where Tim was found and rushed to the hospital. It was after that, Jill received a phone call from a cardiologist at the hospital. With Jill there to support him, Tim rallied. He was discharged. But Tim suffers from Insulin Dependent Diabetes, a gastrointestinal disorder, and pancreatitis. While with him, Jill witnessed he could not keep down food. He was terribly weak and throwing up for more than twenty-four hours. She could not and would not leave him.

It was during this enormously difficult time that Jill had a Silent Heart Attack. Jill was not aware of it. She simply knew she felt pretty terrible. She tried not to worry about the 13 days of hotel room bills, the roundtrip flight, the groceries, the taxi bills because Tim was too weak to use mass transit.

After she returned to Atlanta, Jill saw her doctors, and a series of her own serious ailments were discovered. Now medical bills are pouring in which have to be paid. It sure would be nice if money were no object, but the amount of red ink is putting a terrible strain on Jill. She’s in a big financial hole, and we need to build an army of people to dig her out.

Jill hates asking. She is the giver. Never the taker.

We are sharing Jill’s story because we want to humbly ask those who know her and those who don’t to share her story. If she can raise $9,000, to help pay off everything. Please share her Go Fund Me page everywhere and as many times as you can.

Why should a stranger help Jill? We’ll tell you:

She is a Navy veteran. She is also a brilliant writer who has spent years of her life helping others recognize and achieve their own brilliance. There is nothing in the world that will make her flinch or abandon someone she loves. Been diagnosed with terminal cancer and have no one in the world to help you? Jill will drive you to all your appointments, hold your head every time you throw up, and prepare you to face the transition you know is coming. Feeling lonely and isolated? Jill will pick up the phone because she hasn’t seen you around. “What’s going on?” she’ll ask. Need guidance without judgement? Jill Patrick will nurture you every step of the way as you blaze your own trail.

Help Jill because sometimes the givers in the world need people to give back.

And, most of all, if these money problems affect her health, then we damn well better step up and assist so she doesn’t have to worry. Please contribute and please share her story on Social Media. Help save Jill because she helped save Tim.

 

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Donations 

  • Sylvia Davenport-Veith
    • $25 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Jill Patrick
Organizer
Atlanta, GA

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