The Jonathon Carlson Recovery Fund

On Saturday Nov. 17, just before leaving home to volunteer at a dog rescue event, Jon started having chest pains which he first believed was indigestion. When it didn’t ease, his wife Jillian took him to the local ER, where it was determined that he suffered an aortic dissection, a tear in his aorta. Since this is life threatening and every second mattered, he was air-lifted to Hartford where he underwent emergency surgery for eight hours to repair the damage. Due to the extreme procedures that needed to be done during the surgery, Jon suffered multiple strokes in both his brain and his spine.  On Sunday Nov.18th, he suffered a grand mal seizure. When he didn’t wake up following surgery, doctors determined that his quality of life was questionable and the family was devastated. Slowly, over the next several days, he started to show signs of improvement and is now awake. 

At this time, Jon remains in the ICU where he continues to fight to be able to do things on his  own again. He is currently on breathing assistance and has no feeling below his chest. He is working with occupational, physical, and speech therapy a few times a week. He has a long road ahead of him and the short term goal is to get him out of the ICU, into rehab, and back to his family.


Jillian has been struggling to be with Jon as much as possible, as well as care for their three young children and run the household. There will be MANY expenses which the family will incur, and we want to raise funds to help the Carlson Family with their medical and household expenses while Jon is unable to work. Your support for Jon, Jillian, and their children is greatly appreciated.