Showing Love and Giving Back to the Catos
Donation protected
The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.—Coretta Scott King
In February our friend, Tyrone Cato, was unexpectedly hospitalized with some alarming and mysterious symptoms. During his initial three-week stay at the hospital, he was diagnosed with diabetes, end-stage kidney disease, heart failure and hypertension. These conditions have weakened his heart and now require him to undergo weekly dialysis sessions.
An entrepreneur, artist, and self-starter at heart, Tyrone has worked tirelessly at his business, Tygeron Graphics. For more than 25 years, in addition to running his screen-printing business, Tyrone has been a staunch advocate for creative expression while mentoring young folks and sharing his talents and resources with others in the community. It is a tremendous loss to our community that Tyrone is no longer able to continue working and has had to close his business.
Closing the business has meant a loss of all sources of income for Tyrone and wife Melanie, his companion and full-time caregiver. This has placed a heavy burden on his family. In addition to the physical challenges his medical condition presents, the bills continue to roll in. Although his Medicaid has finally been approved, it only covers expenses going back three months. His February hospital stay isn’t covered, and bills for that month alone are more than $130,000.
An initial community appeal in June provided Ty and Melanie with critical support, allowing them to focus on the details of Ty’s treatment and care without the added stress of financial worries, but some major expenses loom in their near future. Ty undergoes dialysis (hemodialysis) three times a week with each session four hours. The plan is to create a safe space in their home for equipment that would allow him to selfadminister dialysis treatments (peritoneal dialysis). This will make their lives much easier!
The next step is to complete the electrical work needed in the house and to patch the roof above the room to accomodate the necessary equipment. You are invited to share the love and help us give back to the Catos for their years of service to our community. Your support will be deeply appreciated. Please share this GoFundMe widely and check back often for updates. Thank you!
In February our friend, Tyrone Cato, was unexpectedly hospitalized with some alarming and mysterious symptoms. During his initial three-week stay at the hospital, he was diagnosed with diabetes, end-stage kidney disease, heart failure and hypertension. These conditions have weakened his heart and now require him to undergo weekly dialysis sessions.
An entrepreneur, artist, and self-starter at heart, Tyrone has worked tirelessly at his business, Tygeron Graphics. For more than 25 years, in addition to running his screen-printing business, Tyrone has been a staunch advocate for creative expression while mentoring young folks and sharing his talents and resources with others in the community. It is a tremendous loss to our community that Tyrone is no longer able to continue working and has had to close his business.
Closing the business has meant a loss of all sources of income for Tyrone and wife Melanie, his companion and full-time caregiver. This has placed a heavy burden on his family. In addition to the physical challenges his medical condition presents, the bills continue to roll in. Although his Medicaid has finally been approved, it only covers expenses going back three months. His February hospital stay isn’t covered, and bills for that month alone are more than $130,000.
An initial community appeal in June provided Ty and Melanie with critical support, allowing them to focus on the details of Ty’s treatment and care without the added stress of financial worries, but some major expenses loom in their near future. Ty undergoes dialysis (hemodialysis) three times a week with each session four hours. The plan is to create a safe space in their home for equipment that would allow him to selfadminister dialysis treatments (peritoneal dialysis). This will make their lives much easier!
The next step is to complete the electrical work needed in the house and to patch the roof above the room to accomodate the necessary equipment. You are invited to share the love and help us give back to the Catos for their years of service to our community. Your support will be deeply appreciated. Please share this GoFundMe widely and check back often for updates. Thank you!
Fundraising team: Cato Community Support Collective (4)
Omowale Ketu Oladuwa
Organizer
Fort Wayne, IN
Tyrone Cato
Beneficiary
Marialyn Bazile
Team member
Mark Payton
Team member
Jay Carroll
Team member
