Support Pete's Battle with Severe Asthma & Healthcare System

Hi everyone! My name is Pete and I am reaching out today to ask for your support as I navigate a severe health battle with Severe Acute Asthma. Due to extensive medical costs associated with treatment and ongoing care, I've started this fundraiser to help cover expenses not covered by insurance. Your contributions will make a significant difference in my ability to access the necessary care and focus on recovery.

My name is Pete James, and my life took a dramatic turn on June 21, 2023. I suffered a severe asthma attack that required intubation, leaving me in a medically induced coma for ten days and nearly costing me my life. The situation was worsened by the Canadian wildfires at the time, which caused extremely poor air quality. I spent a total of two months in the ICU and PCU, followed by three weeks of intensive inpatient rehabilitation. Finally, on August 20, 2023, I was able to go home. However, during this challenging ordeal, I lost all my muscle mass and had to relearn how to walk, talk, and perform daily tasks from scratch. Today, 15 months later, I am still on the path to recovery.

I am currently facing several significant challenges:

**Speech**: I was unable to talk for some time while in the hospital. After my coma, complications led to a tracheotomy, and even 15 months later, it can still be difficult to understand me at times unless we are face-to-face. This poses a major concern for my work as a call center supervisor and trainer.

**Liver**: Due to all the medications I received in the hospital, my liver has been significantly affected. My liver numbers are still not great 15 months later. I have been very careful to avoid taking Tylenol or any medications that could further harm my liver, which adds to my worries about my health moving forward.

**Legs**: My legs have been the most affected by my ordeal. I continue to experience daily soreness and pain from my hospital stay, and there are certain movements, such as jumping, that I can no longer perform as I used to.

**Mental Health**: This has been the worst side effect of the entire experience. My mental health at the time of the event was already low due to my poor health (severe acute asthma and living on prednisone) and other recent life events. Having had COVID-19 twice—combined with studies showing potential brain damage in those affected—along with the medications used to keep me sedated, left me in a fog for the past year. Depression stemming from my life events, along with my hospital stay and subsequent rehabilitation, has taken a significant toll on my mental well-being.

I am starting this GoFundMe to raise funds because I have been unable to work since June 2023. I have exhausted my savings, which helped me cover bills and sustain myself over the past 15 months while focusing on my recovery. Since my ex-fiancé and I split at the end of 2019, I have been living at my parents' house. My goal was to save enough money to move out on my own again. From late 2019 to June 2023, I managed to save approximately $25,000. Unfortunately, I have had to use that amount over the past 15 months to cover living expenses and bills while continuing my rehabilitation. I knew my savings wouldn’t last forever, and now, at age 52, I find myself having to start over with nothing and am not physically able to provide for myself.

Where do I go from here? This is another significant reason I am asking for help. Currently, I am not working, and I have Medicaid. The Medicaid program covered $1.8 million for my hospital care and grants me access to the medications I need to live. I am currently taking Nucala, which has been life-changing. I started taking it in March 2024. I did get very sick again, spending five days in the hospital this June—coinciding with the anniversary of my near-death experience. However, since then, my lung health has significantly improved. The combination of Nucala, along with Combivent and Pulmicort, has helped my lung function over the past five months.

The biggest challenge I face comes from the choices I have to make. Regardless of what I do, it feels like I end up losing. If I take a job now, I risk losing my Medicaid, which provides the necessary medications for my survival. I recently applied for disability but was denied. I plan to file an appeal, but I need to hire a lawyer, and the resolution will take time. Even if I do manage to obtain disability benefits, the amount is insufficient to live on. Throughout my employment history, I have never had insurance that covers preventive asthma medication. In the early 2000s, I was able to get a prescription for Advair and was doing relatively well. However, for the past 15 years, I haven't had insurance that would cover any asthma medications besides the standard albuterol inhaler, which is not very effective for my condition.

A little more about me: I'm 52 years old and currently living in northeastern Pennsylvania. I have two children: my daughter, who is 21 and attending college full-time, and my son, who is 23 and also in college full-time. I love my two children more than anything in the world. I know I am not guaranteed a long life, and I am okay with that, but would love to see them grow up a little more.

One thing I forgot to mention was that prior to my hospitalization I lost my job on June 3, 2023. So I lost my job (layoffs, did nothing wrong on my end) and then nearly lost my life, and did lose the ability to finish the plan I had laid out to get my life back on track. The plan was to maybe chill for the summer and pick up another job come early fall. I had told some coworkers at the time that it was going to be "The summer of Pete" but it turned out to be an absolute nightmare instead.

One suggestion to improve this situation is to provide more details regarding how the money will be spent. Currently, I am behind on two November bills and facing December bills, so my immediate concern is staying afloat.

- **Up to $5,000:** Catch up on my bills and pay a couple of months in advance.

- **Up to $10,000:** Do the same as above and then start saving for bigger goals.

- **Up to $15,000:** Follow the same plan and also consider paying off my car. This would reduce both my payments and interest, which would be extremely beneficial. Any extra funds would be added to my savings.

- **Anything over $15,000:** Over the past 18 months, I have lived quite frugally. I had the opportunity to stay with my parents for free, which allowed me to work from home and save $25,000. If I reach over $15,000, I would feel comfortable looking for my own apartment, as I believe I am capable of being self-sufficient in my current situation. Additionally, any extra funds would be used for my savings account to cover my preventative asthma medications and other medical bills. Part of the funds would also go toward paying a lawyer for my disability appeal.

I do not spend a lot of money to begin with; my family and friends can vouch for the fact that I am not materialistic. While I own a few nice guitars and musical instruments, I prefer to engage in free or low-cost activities. Even when I travel to Philadelphia for a weekend, I make sure to find the best hotel deals and will only go if the prices are reasonable.

Any donations I may eventually receive will be used exclusively for essentials and to enhance my chances of living a relatively normal life for however many years I have left. I assure you that I will not use these funds for anything extravagant or unnecessary.

after my trach in July 2023.

I was in the hospital a long time, and grew the worlds lamest beard.

My children (pictured) visiting me in the hospital July 2023.

*** Update 12/15 ***

I wanted to update everyone on a couple of things. First thing is that I did not realize that once you put your banking info in that Gofundme defaults to DAILY deposits. Anyway, so I did get $500 out of the $1705 raised so far. I was able to pay two past two balances for November, and one of my Decemember bills. I have switched it to monthly deposits, because something I also found out if that while on Medicaid, if I get over $500 gift per month then I could jeopardize my Medicaid.

But I want to thank everyone who has donated so far, and also for those who have shared my story. I was also able to get my son lunch on Thursday after his finals, and my daughter and I were able to see Wicked yesterday, 12/14. I am obviously still struggling, and will continue trying to get my story out, and not just for donations, but so that they know what they are doing to us.

Thanks again, everyone! Pete