Support Joe & Tess Through This Tough Time

Joe & Tess need support!

In January of 2024, Joe was diagnosed with severe PAD (peripheral artery disease) in both legs. Joe continued to work as much as he could until Labor Day weekend when, despite medical and surgical intervention, it was discovered that his condition had progressed much more rapidly than expected and now he will need a below-knee amputation of his right leg. The left leg will need further intervention too, but is still viable for the time being.

Joe has been unable to work since July and his position of 27 years was formally terminated as of 1/3/25.

We've applied for everything we can - thankfully Joe's medical care is covered by WA's Apple Health (Medicaid) - but since the paid FMLA was exhausted in November, we've been without any income since then. Our savings are depleted, and we've sold everything we can think of selling. We applied for SSDI in December, and we're hoping for a "dire needs" designation in order to get a faster decision.

We need help. Tess is applying for jobs but has been out of the workforce for 20 years, which is a little tricky to overcome, and Joe requires a lot of care around the clock, particularly with pain management and mobility. Still, those applications are going forward!

Our goal is for Tess to be working full time as soon as possible, but in the meantime we need help with basic needs - rent, utilities, etc. We're going to the food bank weekly, which absolutely helps, and thankfully Joe's meds are covered by Apple Health for at least another month.

Thank you for reading our story, and any help is so gratefully received.

Bless you.

The Linharts