Hi everyone

As many of you know, at the end of May I fell at my house and smashed my head, leading to a trip to the ER. My head was OK (as the old joke goes, they examined my head and didn't find anything!). But what they did say is that I needed some physical therapy for my mobility issues. That turned into a difficult 11-day stay at the hospital in which I received minimal therapy. I was then transferred to a skilled nursing facility, but my insurance only covered an hour of therapy five days a week. And because of all of the factors I have working against me (bone-on-bone knees, arthritic hips, torn shoulders, and herniated discs complete with drop foot) it has taken much longer to get back on my feet than I had expected.

Even the positive things that have happened have in a way worked against me. For example, if I lose another 6 pounds, I will have lost 100 pounds since my heaviest six years ago. Unfortunately, much of this weight loss has come in the form of muscle mass which I desperately need to be able to stand and to walk. And the reality is that all of my arthritis-related mobility problems had been making it very difficult to do the simplest of tasks (like getting out of my car) long before the night that I fell. I fought through it all as hard and as long as I could, but all of my arthritis problems, combined with several months of atrophy, have been difficult to deal with - especially when insurance would only cover limited therapy.

My insurance stopped paying for my treatments at the end of June because they said I had not made enough progress. And they have refused to cover me to get more therapy so that I can make more progress. So, since the end of June I have been paying out of pocket for all of my treatment. Many of you contributed to a previous GoFundMe, and your generosity enabled me to pay most of my care at my first rehab facility. But since then I have accrued $45,000 of additional medical costs and as of right now, there is no end in sight.

A few weeks ago, some friends suggested that I start another GoFundMe fundraiser but I declined. I just did not feel comfortable starting a fundraiser for myself. But as I have faced mounting medical bills, I have prayed for the Lord to provide. And then today some special friends of mine came to see me and said that they thought I needed more help and that I should start a new fundraiser to pay for my bills. So, not wanting to be the proverbial drowning man who prayed for rescue but refused to get into the lifeboat and the helicopter, I've decided that maybe the way the Lord is going to provide for me is through the generosity of my friends. So, if you are capable, I need your help. And most of all, I need your prayers - specifically prayers to remind me to focus on things that are eternal and not on things that are temporary.

Thank you so much for your great friendship.

Shane