Jason's Medical and Family Fund

In November 2016, I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.  I spent 7 1/2 weeks in the hospital/rehab hospital for treatment and therapy.  I had to learn to walk and use my hands all over again.  During that time, my wife stayed with me to make sure I had the best of care.  She and I both exhausted our leave balances from work, and I was unable to work for 9 months.  Guillain-Barre Syndrome Fact Sheet Shortly after returning to work, I became ill again.  This time, I've been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and Stiff Person Syndrome.  I have been hospitalized since August 4th, and my wife has once again remained by my side to advocate for me and make sure my needs are met.  Unlike the Guillain-Barre Syndrome which resolved itself over time, these conditions are chronic and debilitating.  They will not go away, and they will continue to cause damage to my body, interrupting my daily life.   Parkinson's Disease Information Page Stiff Person Syndrome Information Page I have had to receive both IVIG and plasma exchange treatments, and it appears that this will be ongoing throughout the rest of my life.  At present, I cannot walk independently, and I have daily full-body spasms that can last for minutes or hours.   Doctors are not presently predicting that I will be able to return to anything resembling my normal daily routine anytime soon.   What Life with Stiff Person Syndrome Looks Like Another Example of Stiff Person Syndrome  Financially, this situation is devastating our family.  With my wife's leave exhausted, she will be bringing home no income at present, and both of us will be required to pay several hundred dollars a month to cover our own health insurance on top of our other living expenses. Paying our bills is becoming difficult, even with help from family members, and we need to ask for assistance from friends and friends of friends to help us get through at least the next couple of months while it is predicted that I will still need my wife's assistance on a constant basis.    This is a very difficult time for me and for my family, and we appreciate any immediate assistance that can be given.   Future medical bills are going to be high, and the pursuit of more effective treatment options is going to be financially taxing as well since Stiff Person Syndrome is a very rare autoimmune disorder, and we will need to seek guidance from known experts that are geographically distant from our home.