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Many of you know my brother Joe or as I love to call him, Joey.
And those of you who do know him, know that despite his "tough male persona" he is an amazing person and I am blessed to call him my brother as he truly does have a heart of gold. For those of you that do not know him it will be hard to put into mere words just how great he is.
What you may not know is Joe suffers from cardiomyopathy/congestive heart failure, a disease that enlarges and weakens the heart muscle, not allowing the organ to pump blood efficiently.
In 2006 Joe was implanted with a pace maker/defibrillator. This helped "stablize" his condition the best it could. Unfortunately over the years his condition deteriorated and he was forced into an early medical retirement in November 2011.
Imagine being a 43 year old who’s only option for living is to get a partial artificial heart – this is Joe's reality.
In July 2014 the team of heart doctors at University of Michigan hospital came to Joe and told him we really had no choice but to have a LVAD (left ventricle assist device or in layman's terms a titanium heart pump) put in. This is a Bridge to Transplant VAD and not a destination VAD. A Bridge to Transplant is just a temporary hold for someone until they are strong enough for the body to accept a heart. For a lack of a better term, the LVAD is "buying time."
Since November of 2015 Joe has been hospitalized 4 times, being admitted to U of M hospital for weeks on end.
On February 1st, 2016 our prayers were answered and Joe was accepted to be a transplant recipient.
Not only is Joe awaiting a heart transplant, he is also awaiting a kidney. Due to the medication he has been on for years, his kidneys are only working at a mere 30%.
Joey is a devoted husband, an inspirational brother, a fun-loving uncle and a loyal friend to many. He has touched so many people in his life with the pride behind all he does; his dedication to his family & loyalty to his friends, his willingness to help others, his dedication to past employers, his sense of humor making people smile & laugh. I have not met a single person that has anything bad to say about this man. He makes friends with anyone he comes in contact with. He always has a smile on his face even when he is not feeling well.
While his faith in life has not waivored and his determination to live a full life is strong this has completely changed his life as one could imagine. With his new heart & kidney Joe will be able to be that same person he was before becoming sick, only better! Joe will be living because someone, a complete stranger will have given him the gift of life.
Joe has learned a lesson that most people may never learn, that is to be thankful for life and never take even the simplest things for granted.
I am creating this fundraiser in effort to help offset the staggering healthcare bills past/present & future, lifelong medications, travel expenses to/from hospital in Ann Arbor, rehabilitation, etc.
Unfortunately due to the round the clock care Joe requires his wife (Holly) has also not been able to return to work.
I am asking that everyone keep Joey and our family in your thoughts and prayers and if you can donate anything (big or small) to help ease the stress of this financial burden off of him during this trying time it would be appreciated.
On behalf of Joey, myself (Linda), his wife (Holly), our siblings (Mary & Scott) and our entire family, THANK YOU!
And those of you who do know him, know that despite his "tough male persona" he is an amazing person and I am blessed to call him my brother as he truly does have a heart of gold. For those of you that do not know him it will be hard to put into mere words just how great he is.
What you may not know is Joe suffers from cardiomyopathy/congestive heart failure, a disease that enlarges and weakens the heart muscle, not allowing the organ to pump blood efficiently.
In 2006 Joe was implanted with a pace maker/defibrillator. This helped "stablize" his condition the best it could. Unfortunately over the years his condition deteriorated and he was forced into an early medical retirement in November 2011.
Imagine being a 43 year old who’s only option for living is to get a partial artificial heart – this is Joe's reality.
In July 2014 the team of heart doctors at University of Michigan hospital came to Joe and told him we really had no choice but to have a LVAD (left ventricle assist device or in layman's terms a titanium heart pump) put in. This is a Bridge to Transplant VAD and not a destination VAD. A Bridge to Transplant is just a temporary hold for someone until they are strong enough for the body to accept a heart. For a lack of a better term, the LVAD is "buying time."
Since November of 2015 Joe has been hospitalized 4 times, being admitted to U of M hospital for weeks on end.
On February 1st, 2016 our prayers were answered and Joe was accepted to be a transplant recipient.
Not only is Joe awaiting a heart transplant, he is also awaiting a kidney. Due to the medication he has been on for years, his kidneys are only working at a mere 30%.
Joey is a devoted husband, an inspirational brother, a fun-loving uncle and a loyal friend to many. He has touched so many people in his life with the pride behind all he does; his dedication to his family & loyalty to his friends, his willingness to help others, his dedication to past employers, his sense of humor making people smile & laugh. I have not met a single person that has anything bad to say about this man. He makes friends with anyone he comes in contact with. He always has a smile on his face even when he is not feeling well.
While his faith in life has not waivored and his determination to live a full life is strong this has completely changed his life as one could imagine. With his new heart & kidney Joe will be able to be that same person he was before becoming sick, only better! Joe will be living because someone, a complete stranger will have given him the gift of life.
Joe has learned a lesson that most people may never learn, that is to be thankful for life and never take even the simplest things for granted.
I am creating this fundraiser in effort to help offset the staggering healthcare bills past/present & future, lifelong medications, travel expenses to/from hospital in Ann Arbor, rehabilitation, etc.
Unfortunately due to the round the clock care Joe requires his wife (Holly) has also not been able to return to work.
I am asking that everyone keep Joey and our family in your thoughts and prayers and if you can donate anything (big or small) to help ease the stress of this financial burden off of him during this trying time it would be appreciated.
On behalf of Joey, myself (Linda), his wife (Holly), our siblings (Mary & Scott) and our entire family, THANK YOU!