Show Tim's Heart Some Love
Donation protected
This is Tim.
If you're part of the Folk Project or the Princeton dance community, Tim needs no introduction. You've seen him lots of times at contra dances, whirling through the crowd in his tie-dyed shirt, bandana headband, and trademark bare feet. Or you've heard him at Troubadour concerts, whooping loudly in approval at the end of a rousing number. Or maybe you've been to one of the music parties and game parties he throws all the time with his wife, Nancy - filling their basement with as many people as it will hold and playing all afternoon and into the night.
However, what you might not know (especially if you don't check Facebook that often) is that Tim has had some serious health problems in the past year. Last fall, he started having trouble breathing during exercise and ended up spending several days in the hospital being treated for fluid in his lungs. He got that cleared up, but was still being treated for the underlying cause when he had to go back into the hospital with a burst appendix. And just a week after that, he was readmitted because his lungs were filling up with fluid again. He was eventually diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
The good news is, he is currently in a hospital in Philadelphia and is scheduled for an operation tomorrow that his doctor is very optimistic will fix the whole problem. I don't understand all the details, but basically, they are rewiring his pacemaker to encourage his heart to pump more efficiently so that it can flush out all the excess fluid that is now building up in his lungs. Nancy has been by his side nearly all the time and is keeping us all updated.
The bad news is, even if this operation is a 100 percent success, Tim and Nancy will not be out of trouble, because they will have some whopping medical bills to pay. They have insurance, but their deductible and out-of-pocket max are pretty high. According to Tim, just the hospital room in which he has been sitting for the past week doing nothing has been costing them about $500 per day. And the procedure he's scheduled for tomorrow is likely to cost around $30,000, of which insurance might pay half. They won't really know how bad it is until the bills start arriving, but they know it's not going to be good.
But the other good news is, after all his years in New Jersey, Tim has lots and lots of friends - in the folk community, the dance community, the computer science and board game and hiking and beach-going communities. And if all those friends can chip in a little money each - maybe $25, maybe $50, maybe $100 or more - it will go a long way toward helping these good people get back on their feet.
We have set an initial goal of $15,000. That probably won't cover everything, but for Tim and Nancy, it could mean the difference between being able to stay here in New Jersey, surrounded by all their friends, or having to move someplace else where they can live on the cheap.
For many of us, Tim has been at the heart of our community - of many different communities - for decades. Now we all have a chance to show him how important a place he holds in our hearts by helping supply the money he needs to keep his heart going. It's a good one, so let's make sure it keeps working for many more years to come.
If you're part of the Folk Project or the Princeton dance community, Tim needs no introduction. You've seen him lots of times at contra dances, whirling through the crowd in his tie-dyed shirt, bandana headband, and trademark bare feet. Or you've heard him at Troubadour concerts, whooping loudly in approval at the end of a rousing number. Or maybe you've been to one of the music parties and game parties he throws all the time with his wife, Nancy - filling their basement with as many people as it will hold and playing all afternoon and into the night.
However, what you might not know (especially if you don't check Facebook that often) is that Tim has had some serious health problems in the past year. Last fall, he started having trouble breathing during exercise and ended up spending several days in the hospital being treated for fluid in his lungs. He got that cleared up, but was still being treated for the underlying cause when he had to go back into the hospital with a burst appendix. And just a week after that, he was readmitted because his lungs were filling up with fluid again. He was eventually diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
The good news is, he is currently in a hospital in Philadelphia and is scheduled for an operation tomorrow that his doctor is very optimistic will fix the whole problem. I don't understand all the details, but basically, they are rewiring his pacemaker to encourage his heart to pump more efficiently so that it can flush out all the excess fluid that is now building up in his lungs. Nancy has been by his side nearly all the time and is keeping us all updated.
The bad news is, even if this operation is a 100 percent success, Tim and Nancy will not be out of trouble, because they will have some whopping medical bills to pay. They have insurance, but their deductible and out-of-pocket max are pretty high. According to Tim, just the hospital room in which he has been sitting for the past week doing nothing has been costing them about $500 per day. And the procedure he's scheduled for tomorrow is likely to cost around $30,000, of which insurance might pay half. They won't really know how bad it is until the bills start arriving, but they know it's not going to be good.
But the other good news is, after all his years in New Jersey, Tim has lots and lots of friends - in the folk community, the dance community, the computer science and board game and hiking and beach-going communities. And if all those friends can chip in a little money each - maybe $25, maybe $50, maybe $100 or more - it will go a long way toward helping these good people get back on their feet.
We have set an initial goal of $15,000. That probably won't cover everything, but for Tim and Nancy, it could mean the difference between being able to stay here in New Jersey, surrounded by all their friends, or having to move someplace else where they can live on the cheap.
For many of us, Tim has been at the heart of our community - of many different communities - for decades. Now we all have a chance to show him how important a place he holds in our hearts by helping supply the money he needs to keep his heart going. It's a good one, so let's make sure it keeps working for many more years to come.
Organizer and beneficiary
Amy Livingston
Organizer
Highland Park, NJ
Nancy Beyer
Beneficiary
