STROKE FUND - ERIK KOCH of Eriks Auto Schenectady

Hello, I Am Robert Nice to Meet You...

Our Very good Friend Erik Koch who operates ERIK'S AUTO in Lower Schenectady NY (Weaver Street and Broadway) recently suffered a stroke. A Pretty debilitating and bad one. Not that there are good ones...as we all know...

If you know Erik ?.... I certainly realize you will know full well each and everything i speak of in this not so brief lil essay.

Erik has run his family-owned Auto Repair Garage in Schenectady New York for more than 10 years. and been a quality mechanic for pretty much his entire life.

He is a Family man and Great Dad. His Sweet Wife Kristy even goes so far as to admit, he is also a great husband. ( ok with a lil arm twistin and her signature sweet smile!!! and an "oh yeah! " ).

If you are fortunate enough to know this man?..and have had him work on your vehicle(s) over the years? Then you already know, He is a great mechanic. Erik also goes out of his way to save Us all MONEY!!

Honestly...to the point of realistically not even charging enough...more often than not. IYKYK ?

In my experience, the guy saves a customer somewhere around 30% and even more on a repair.

and...he always seems to fit the work in as soon as humanly possible. Always going out of his way to do so. ( If you know? and he has helped you?..you are likely shaking your head yes..right now)

I have known him for more than 15 years and likely saved enough on needed repairs to basically be able to stay in business more readily myself. Especially when a work truck breaks down and Erik drops what he was doing and says "Let's Get it in here... and see what's up?..

***** SO FOLKS... Here's the deal...

...Everyone realizes just how near impossible it is to even find a really good mechanic.

More often than not they pretty much all charge so much money for a repair...it can be damn near debilitating. And the very idea of dropping off a broke down vehicle and hoping for the best, can be a real nightmare. We have all experienced that.

THEN.... pretty much by the Grace of God... Thankfully we met Erik! :)

Hopefully, some or most of you know this friend.

and again...are shaking your head YES! YES!

Enough of that butt kissin...( Believe me I could go on and on and on.....) He is literally that good, Fair and decent to do business with. AND.Fixes a lot of the problems other shops just scratch their heads and often refer you to ERIK'S GARAGE anyhow...

Erik Helps EVERYONE...and always thinks of others' needs before his own...ask anyone that knows him...i promise you that...

I can personally tell you I have seen this guy go out of his way to help so many people. From strangers that show up with a broken down jalopy no other shop would even lift the hood on..to down-on-their-luck broke ass hard working blue collar workaholics like myself. More often than not need my work truck back and running just to go to work and feed my own family. He always saves me time and money.

SO... ONE DAY.

A quick story about WHY Erik has been such a long-time friend. Also a bit of why I respect him as I do..

One time while I was at his shop, a single mom with 3 screaming kids in the back seat. stopped in and asked Erik if he could help. Her car was making a loud screeching whirring noise like it was about to either blow up or take off into space!.. He dropped what he was doing..said "Sure shut it off and pop the hood"..The lady says " Im not sure i can afford to fix it!" He looked under the hood..a few minutes...and said "Ahhhh there's the problem" Grabbed a couple of hand tools from his workbench..and fiddled with it for about 30 minutes..turns out the darn radiator shield was torn loose and rubbing against the fan belt or timing belt?.. ..he bolted it all back where it belonged..told the Mom.." start it up".....The noise was gone..But the kids were still hollerin in the car.. That single mom was so happy she was literally crying... She asked 'Oh my God..How much do I owe you?' "You're a Lifesaver !" Erik gave one of his funny smirks and said "Ahhhh don't worry about it. wasn't that big a deal....bring it back if it ever needs anything else " We're here all week Every week!" with a laugh..

I am sure he saved that lady what any other garage would have charged her at least a couple hundred dollars and bullshit her it was a major fix and no one woulda been the wiser..on that lil job..?

after she thanked him profusely and left.. We asked him..." Hey.. shouldn't you have charged her something?..i mean dang"..

Ol Erik turned to me and another friend and laughed and said..." I Don't think she could afford to pay much?"..and..it took nothing but a few bolts and a 'lil bending it back into shape.. I'm glad she's back on her way..." Not to mention. if I wanted to hear kids screamin' - I'd bring mine to work with me!" hahaha

***** YES..I could tell you of a hundred similar instances of this guy helping out without even thinking whats in it for himself..hmmm maybe not the best business man..where profit or getting himself ahead is considered?...Go figure...

I am pretty sure not even all he and his family is going through as of late will do much to change that?

thank goodness....Gotta Love him...

Erik and his Wife Kristy have a wonderful family consisting of a bunch of kids..ha

He and Kristy currently have 3 young ones at home. A 7yr old grandson and two older boys 11 and 13 yrs old. All great kids..and darn if dont they love that guy...of course. The family lives almost 45 minutes away in Milton NY ( near Saratoga). And together they run their garage in Schenectady. Not an easy go of it by any means.

****** On A VERY SERIOUS SIDE NOTE !!! yes a side note.( I KNOW I tend to go on and on and onnnn sorry)..

Not too many folks even friends and customers.. realize in just the last year, Erik and Kristy were hit with some really terrible news. Business-wise and future wise . It seems the Landlord they lease the Automotive shop from in Schenectady.

had not kept them apprised of the fact that even though they have always kept on time with their rent, HE (landlord) has NOT PAID THE LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES on the building in many years !!!!

so...it goes..Now the building is in jeopardy of being foreclosed on and sold out from under them!! Which of course would be and already is devastating to their business and family life. and ability to prosper and run their garage.

All of this... in my estimation... is at least a big contributing factor involving stress that likely pretty much put this man where he is today, healthwise.

To be real....even before this devastating health crisis.. things were already quite trying for these good folks.

as it is realistically for a lot of good hard working folks these days. But DAMN...it's a LOT!!! for them!

So...here we are....

Trying to find some reasonable ways to help this amazing family-owned business and honestly great and very cool friends of our family..

As well as true assets to all of our local community as a whole, business and Auto service-wise.

Sooooo as far as I know...this Go Fund ME deal...helps good people help and assist other good people...in their time of need...

I Have seen wonderful folks help virtual strangers on this Go Fund Me site to my amazement..and I believe it is quite often miraculous...indeed.

If anyone reading this knows Erik and Kristy either professionally, personally or both then you, like I, already realize there are probably not many others as deserving of some help in their time of need,

as this family is.

Now...all of a sudden out of the blue...BAM..

Erik suffers a debilitating stroke...

Thankfully he lived..NOW..The Challenges are nothing short of another butt whoopin...

The family is faced with devastating hospital bills that are gonna grow about as fast as the darn national debt..according to the Hospital and the mailbox !!!

Like many of us that are self-employed...this is gonna be a hard hit...of course. just in the cost of the recent hospitalization and initial costs.

Now they face likely months to years of being debilitated and possibly wiped out financially......and Erik is about to undergo hopefully life-saving surgeries to try to diminish the narrowing of the carotid artery in his neck that caused the stroke initially. Frighteningly with a hopeful , likely 50/50 chance of even making it through. Seeing that the ultrasounds and other incredibly expensive initial tests show a nearly complete blockage of his carotid artery going to his brain. Frankly we are all very, very thankful he has made it this far. and is alive with a chance to continue.

If any of you can help?...especially with donations...yes..That would be so greatly and humbly appreciated..of course. Prayers and well wishes are also very much appreciated.

This is gonna be a very long road to simple hopeful survival for our friend Erik....let alone recuperation and being well once again. Hopefully and God Willing to have an eventual betterment and good quality of life. And. a bit selfishly..ill admit..(ha)...So he can get his butt back to fixing all of our vehicles..with that smirk he often gives signaling. "Yeah..Ok...Glad you understand it's not gonna be done tomorrow!.. But i"ll do all I can to get you back to work... haha!

( sorry...had to put in a bit of levity there for those of you that may not know the guy..as I find myself a bit teary-eyed writing this knowing what a good dude he truly is.) Not to mention what I am seeing this do to these good folks and family...

Please... folks... IF you can? ...Let's see what we can do for them!!!

***** Thank you in advance for your concerns and help. Very much appreciated.*****

**** AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF THIS GUY HELPING OUT THE PUBLIC AS IF HE IS ALREADY A FRIEND, LET'S SHOW HIM WE HAVE APPRECIATED HIM ALL THIS TIME TOO !******

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