<div><strong><em>JAN 9 2025 UPDATED GO FUND ME: </em></strong>
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<div>Mel here, 
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<div>My heart is aching sitting down to write this. I was just on the phone with Jamie, watching the sadness move through her body: hysterical tears, shaking, and all the confusion you would expect from a massive life tragedy and trauma. 
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<div>It pains me to share this update, but I'm pivoting this GO FUND me to provide relief to Jamie and her extended family. 
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<div>She has LOST EVERYTHING  in the Malibu fires—the home she owned (and rented out), her parents’ home, and her grandmother’s home. Three generations of properties now gone overnight.  These weren’t just buildings; they held most all of her personal items (since moving to Portugal), decades of family memories, and a big source of income for her family. She is missing the sense of belonging, life, and safety "HOME" is meant to bring. 
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<div>Even more, the circle of lifelong friends Jamie had in Malibu also ALL lost their homes, most rushing out with only the clothes on their backs!
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<div>I know Jamie and her spirit and resilience will carry her through, but it's a moment where we can give love in tangible form: through a sense of financial security and additional resources. It's this form of safety she could really use right now. 
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<div>Much love, and to a life woven together in community, 
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<div>Mel
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<div><strong><em>Join us in supporting Joey and Jamie Dixon as they navigate Joey's life-threatening diagnosis of AVM and the extensive medical journey ahead.</em></strong><em> </em>
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<div><em>Your contributions will provide crucial support for Joey's multiple brain surgeries and recovery, easing their financial and emotional burden and allowing Jamie to care for their family during this incredibly challenging time. </em>
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<div><strong>A celebration of the human spirit </strong>
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<div>Mel here, one of Jamie’s dear friends!
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<div>I deeply believe we were made to live as a collective community - giving and receiving love, energy, and resources. It’s the natural cycle of life. And just like the seasons, sometimes dark clouds roll in, the shadows terrify us, and we need the light and life of others to help us navigate through the dark.
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<div><strong>This is one of those moments.</strong>
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<div>That’s why, with my whole being, I’m honored to launch this GO FUND ME campaign for Jamie and Joey Dixon. It’s a page to remind them throughout this journey,<strong> they are held by our collective support. </strong>
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<div>All the doctors are predicting a very long, complicated path for them, with expensive international medical bills, resources needed for food, help around the house, childcare, and endless recovery supplies and needs. I know many of us are far away and can’t drop by to hug them, hold them, and look into their eyes to hold space for their grief…..but let’s send our love in this tangible way, which, from being by Jamie’s side, is exactly what she needs.
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<div><strong>Indeed, in this case, the practical stuff truly is the highest expression of LOVE. </strong>
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<div><em>“We are not put on this earth for ourselves but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.” </em>
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<div><strong>The heartbreak:</strong> Joey’s life-threatening diagnosis and brain surgeries
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<div>Jamie recently said to me, “Mel….I will never forget the phone call. The doctor said to us, ‘You have a large mass in your brain.’ Words no one ever wants to hear. In that instant, I lost my hearing and couldn’t even feel my body…. tears started streaming down my face. Oof, my heart stopped, and I simultaneously felt the fullness of love for him and the sharp sting of all that might be lost.”
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<div>If you’ve met Joey (43, his entire adult life has been dedicated to a balanced, healthy lifestyle), you know he is the kindest, calmest, and most patient human. In the Dixon household, since the birth of their daughter, Joey has been the primary caregiver. He does the shopping, all the meals, school pick-ups and drop-offs, and the taking care of things around the house (while Jamie works). However, all this has been paused as he has been diagnosed with something called AVM.
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<div><strong>AVM is a tangle of blood vessels that irregularly connects arteries and veins, disrupting blood flow and oxygen circulation to the brain.</strong> Most people are born with this (it’s not genetic) It never goes away, and most people don’t know they have it until it ruptures, causing stroke, seizure, or worse. The images currently show a high risk of rupture in two different places. If that happens, <em>he could die.</em> This reality, and all its sadness, grief, and fear, is felt inside everyone.
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<div>Last week, they experienced complications after undergoing an imaging procedure, and there was damage sustained to his femoral artery. He then had to have a very high-risk emergency superficial femoral artery bypass. It will take 6-12 weeks to heal from this first and unexpected emergency surgery.
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<div>This was a huge setback, as he was supposed to get brain surgery THIS WEEK. The mass is too large to remove it at the moment. So, he will first need as many as three embolization brain surgeries to try and shrink it before they can attempt a final brain surgery to remove it completely. Each of these surgeries is super high risk with serious side effects and/or complications, including stroke, seizure nerve damage, etc. BUT if they don’t do these surgeries, then it could hemorrhage at any moment with similar or even worse outcomes. (a ticking time bomb).
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<div><strong>What now? </strong>Joey and Jamie have a minimum of six months to 1 year of surgeries ahead—recovery, more surgeries, more recovery. During most of this time, Joey will be unavailable to work and will most likely be flown to Germany to perform the surgeries all out of pocket. There will undoubtedly be many more unforeseen expenses. They will need as much help as possible while Jamie steps into the role of full-time caretaker of her husband and daughter while continuing to work full-time. This page will help support them in this journey!
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<div><strong>The Dixon Family Story:</strong>
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<div>They moved to Portugal 3 years ago, in July of 2021, for a different life experience. They wanted to give their daughter a life of speaking many languages, immersed in new cultures, experiencing Europe, and obtaining a 2nd passport. Like anything, this was a challenge, yet after many months, their visas were accepted, they packed up their life into 15 suitcases and flew across the world to move to a country they had never even visited.
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<div>They have been happily living in Portugal but are now having to navigate this medical journey away from family and friends back in the US.
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<div><strong>Stay tuned: </strong>
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<div>This is an ongoing fundraiser until all medical costs have been covered. They will also be posting on going updates.
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Joeys Medical Journey

Joeys Medical Journey

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