Support for Our Craig

Our son Craig was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis at the young age of 25, in 2010. He is 31 now and has seen the effects drastically change his life already. It started with him having blurry vision and seeing double. He then went to see an Ophthalmologist, who suggested for him to get a MRI. With this, the results showed his optic nerve was being affected by lesions on his brain which are caused by MS. At that time, he was sent for steroid treatments which helped to improve his vision since then it has never been 100%.
Craig at the time was able to continue with his dream career as a Union Carpenter. He became a journeyman in December of 2011. He was then again struck by the MS with balance issues, extreme fatigue, and vision impairment. This made it nearly impossible for him to continue his line of work. The constant struggle of getting sick at job sites due to the heat, sun, or dizziness took a toll, eventually leading to him having to leave work. He was then off for a long period of time in which he had to make the decision whether or not to leave the career he loved as a carpenter. He then withdrew from the Carpenters Union. During this time, Craig was off work suffering from the symptoms of MS. Craig was off from any work without pay for over 1 year. He was also planning a wedding during all this, with his longtime partner Corrine. Craig and Corrine continued to plan their wedding with the assistance of family and friends. They were married in September of 2013.
In November of 2014, he was offered a job with the Machinist Union at C. Creators working as a Fabricator. He quickly moved up in the company, based on his skills and dedication to his department. Craig worked at C. Creators from November 2014 until July of 2016 when MS struck him yet again and he relapsed. Now the fatigue had gotten even worse, and also he began struggling to walk as his legs were weakening and his vision became impaired once again. He was also having issues with feeling as if he were going to pass out. After this, Craig began to take new medications to attempt to relieve the possibility of any future relapses. Craig has under gone many forms of testing and different medications throughout to assist him in being able to maintain a “normal” lifestyle. He has been stripped of the things most of us take for granted on a daily basis, due to this debilitating disease. At this point, Craig is not able to drive, or even walk without the assistance of a cane for short distances.
Throughout the years Craig & Corrine have struggled to meet their bills, with the high cost of medications, MRI‘s, doctor visits, and physical therapy. On January 28th 2017, he was terminated from his job at C. Creators as he was on short term disability. Craig is now counting on Disability to pay his countless medical bills which have been mounting for years, and years to come. He will be waiting to see if he is qualified for long term disability with no monthly income during this time for his ongoing medical care.
Finally, our son Craig is not a man who willingly takes handouts. He believes in working hard for everything and anything. We as his family have reminded him countless times that good people are out there and are willing to help him, but he has hesitated to accept any offer or handout. We would like for you all to come together, to help support Craig in this time, in order to show that people are willing to help. Your love and support is what he and many others who suffer from this disease need. It would be deeply appreciated by us if you could find it in your hearts to help our young, yet oldest son, in his time of need. We need to prove to Craig and the countless other people who have this disease that they are not left unseen or unnoticed. This terrible disease may not have a cure right now, but we can come together to support Craig in his battle with MS, and one day we hope there is a cure to end his and many others battle with MS.

Thank you to all who reach out here for our Craig
The Witkowski family