Tim needs your help. Please read below. Thanks!

Hello Everyone,

 

I find this (asking for financial help) pretty embarrassing but then I think: If a friend, or family member, of mine reached out under these same circumstances I wouldn't think poorly of them, and I would do what I could afford to assist them. So here I am, embarrassed or not, because I could use some help. Hopefully, but unknown at this time, very short term.  Frankly, the doctors themselves do not know.

 

Here is the genesis of this GFM appeal for some help: On December 27, 2021, I was struck and run down by an automobile while crossing Brown Street (at Michigan Ave.). I was in the crosswalk and had the right-of-way according to the signals. Most of you know that I walk multiple miles every day. This is one of my routine routes, one that I walk almost every day. I was wearing my very-bright-yellow hat that I purchased precisely for being visible on my walks. Somehow, this particular driver did not see me as he was turning left onto Brown from Michigan. According to a verbal report from the RO (City of Jackson PD) his passenger saw me, but the driver did not. Go figure.

 

My memory is this: Starting to cross the street. Something white moving fast.  A thought: Oh, shit, this is how my life ends. That's it.
The mind is a funny thing.

 

That's it. I woke up in the Emergency Department of Allegiance Henry Ford Hospital here in Jackson. I was in tremendous physical pain, and I was very confused and completely disoriented. I still have no memory of the impact itself except as noted: Something white, 'I'm about to die, dammit.' That's all. I have since learned that the vehicle that hit me was white and I reportedly took a 'windshield wiper with me'. Okay, whatever that may mean.

 

I spent the next several days and nights in the Trauma Ward of the hospital. The GREAT news is that I will be okay. They don't say when I will be okay, but they are confident my physical injuries are not life-threatening at this time. My whole left side feels like Ali and Foreman and Frazier caught me with my guard down. My concern is currently my brain/mind. I took a pretty good konk on my head. The headaches won't stop. I am dizzy, fuzzy and unsteady on my feet. I'm not so sure I want to remember any more than I do about the impact. My short-term memory is faulty, spotty and unreliable. 

 

I am unsure when I can resume working. The job market is supposedly good, and I am a man of some limited skills, education and experience so long-term should be promising.  I am optimistic. 

 

In early November I was fired from my COVID-19 checking job at the Allegiance Henry Ford Hospital because I was restrained from working after midnight (I normally worked 6 p.m. until 6 a.m.) by my Neurologist/Sleep Specialist physician after scoring 46 (on a scale of 0-30, with 30 being 'critical') on a sleep apnea assessment). I told my boss I could work odd shifts, short notice shifts, fill-in shifts, whatever, just not 'after midnight hours' because of the new diagnosis and the doctor's (upstairs in the same hospital) recommendation.

She said, "Too bad, so sad. You're fired". This was despite my perfect attendance and zero tardy history of working at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital.
I am an old, fat, white, male. My boss was a young, black-mixed-something, female. Go figure. That is the truth, but it is also a 'discussion' for a different time.

I haven't had a paycheck in almost 2 1/2 months now. My bills don't stop because of being fired or being run down in the street.

 

I finally received my CPAP machine in order to attempt treatment of the sleep apnea disorder but had only had it less than a week before being run down by the car last week. I hope it will be an effective treatment and I can soon get a good night's sleep. Perhaps for the first time in decades, according to the sleep specialist doctor. I hope to be able to resume working soon, but none of my doctors can realistically project a date on which I can safely do so given the multiplicity of current medical issues. 

 

That is my current life story right now.  If you can spare $10, $15, $25, $50, $100 or any other lesser or greater amount, please do so. I thank you ahead of time.  I am confident that most of you know that if the situation was reversed, I would absolutely do what I could to help you.  Again, I thank you and I seriously hope you are never in a position that I have to repay the favor. God Bless and Happy New Year!