THIS IS A BIG JOB BUT WE NEED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!  Ted Lemon helps so many people…now he needs our help.  Ted is on dialysis, has diabetes, had a heart attack, has a bad back…probably from an uneven gait from having only one leg (from a past accident) and recently had a brain bleed from an accident where highway 58 meets highway 395…he spent four days in intensive care with this injury.  The goal is to help Ted get on Home Dialysis.  If he is on home dialysis, he will feel better as he can do dialysis every night…not just three days a week.  He will not have to take off work to go to dialysis.  He will also be able to go out of town occasionally.  Home dialysis requires him to have a house that meets the dialysis requirements.  Ted is not capable of cleaning up his house with his disabilities.  Volunteers have been working for 3 months to remove all the clutter from the house and clean everything.  Ted has been very cooperative with this invasion of his home.  But there is more work to do….We  now need to paint the house, put down new flooring, get heating and cooling replaced, new windows to keep out the dust and do an ADA compliant bathroom for Ted.  A lot of volunteer work (over 20 volunteers) has been done…and some money has been raised.  But, we are a long way from what is left to do.  Please see it in your heart to donate to help Ted regain some semblance to his life.  Thank you….

GoFundMe has asked that I provide the following information:

Who I am:  I am Mary Meyer  Lundstrom.  I have lived in Ridgecrest for over 50 years.  I am a Realtor in the daytime.  I am a Rotarian in my personal time.  

Where are you from:  I am from Hollywood originally but moved to Ridgecrest in 1958.  I love the small town atmosphere of Ridgecrest.  

What is your relationship to Ted:  Ted and I are friends.  We were at dinner one night when we talked about his struggles with his medical issues.  I asked how I could help.  That is how we got started on this project.  I called friends of mine and friends of Ted's and got a crew together to work on making Ted's house conducive to home dialysis.  Some of our volunteers didn't know Ted when we started the project.  

How will the funds be used:  We are part way thru the renovation of Ted's home and still need an ADA bathroom for him.  The house needs to be painted and the flooring needs replacing.  We need heating and cooling to be made workable.  One cooler is missing and the wall heater doesn't work.  We also need new windows...as many are broken...and the home needs to be dust free for home dialysis.  We have been working for almost 4 months and have accomplished much but have run out of money for the repairs.  We have had over 20 volunteers working on this project.  We had an electrician who donated his time to get the electrical in the house in working order.  We had the roof repaired as it was raining inside the house.  We have removed most of the excess belongings from the house and have a donated dumpster outside.  We have scraped ceilings, patched wall holes, removed mold and drywall, gutted a small bathroom and have a new toilet and vanity to install...just need someone who can do this.  We had the yard cleaned, the dead trees removed and the pool filled in as Ted's dog fell in the pool awhile back and died.  It was a hazard.  We have so much more to do and will now be able to continue with the help from Ted's friends on GoFundMe.  The money we raised will be used for supplies, products and labor that we can't get donated.  We did get a  flooring contractor to volunteer to cut his labor cost in half!  So far, the only labor we have paid is the roof repair....and we got that done for a reduced cost.  

How do we intend to send the funds to the parties you are raising money for or use the money on their behalf:  I opened an account for Ted's project (I didn't want to co-mingle the funds with my personal money).  All the money has gone into this account.  I keep a spread sheet on the income and expenses and save receipts.  Bills will be paid with a check or a debit card from this account.  

I hope to be back soon with news that we are done and can celebrate Ted's new life!