Papa Knick Barger

Many of you know one of Knick Barger's catchphrases is "Get 'er Done." 

And for many years he took care of his family, built your houses and businesses and served his Sarasota community with a steadfast determination to get things done.

Well, now it's time to "get 'er done" for Knick. 

KNICK BARGER NEEDS OUR HELP.

I never imagined this day would happen. And it never played out in my mind anything like the way it is happening now. I expected Knick would ride off into the sunset in some tricked-out blue Mustang convertible telling a joke we’d heard 100 times before. But our reality is nothing close to that. My dad, only 70 years old, is in trouble and we need your help. Knick has been diagnosed with Severe Vascular Dementia and has spent the last four weeks at Bayside at SMH and will not be returning home. I’ve started this GoFundMe page to help with related medical costs so that we can move Knick into a memory care assisted living facility where he will be taken care of with dignity. 

Please know that going public with my father and family's situation is not easy for me to do, but I have set my pride aside as I ask for your help. I’m doing this for my father. My best friend. And your friend, Knick.  And I know in my heart, you would want to know our reality. While many of you have suspected that something was not right, Knick covered and compensated with his illness reasonably well until recently. The last few months have not been easy. Things have been upside down that shouldn’t have been, and even though I’ve raced on ahead and hopscotched my way as best I could, it’s now all too painfully apparent that the odds were against us, and now I understand why. We can’t walk this back, we can’t hope tomorrow will be a better day.  Knick's dementia is here and it is debilitating. My heart is breaking.
 
Let me tell you about Knick. He is my hero. All my life he’s been this amazing guy, who built more than half town. Take a tour of Sarasota with me and I’ll point out his construction projects across the County. Have a coffee with me and I’ll tell you how many lives he’s touched behind the scenes when no one was looking — with his pro bono work, and his kindness to friends, customers and employees. If you’ve been a customer at Knick’s Tavern and Grill, the bar he built 17 years ago, you’ll know what I’m talking about. He knows everyone in town. He’s loved Sarasota since he moved here in 1952 at the young age of four. He loves his family fiercely, and he’ll chase after you to proudly show you a faded photograph of one of us that he keeps on the dashboard of his car. If a person can be a landmark, then to me, it’s Knick.
 
But Knick’s health recently went downhill, and what we now know as Dementia took a turn for the worse last month, so he spent the last four weeks at Bayside. Now we have the daunting task of finding a residential facility that will take him on full-time as he needs assisted living with a memory care ward. What we want for him and what his reality is are really far apart. Medicare only covers the low-end of skilled care facilities, not assisted living with memory care, which is what Knick needs.  I speak from my heart when I tell you that I can’t live with myself if we send him to live out his days in one of these places, especially after touring what is available over the last few weeks. At one I visited, I saw patients lined up along the hallways on plastic gurneys while other patients lay languid in squalid conditions. I just can’t send Knick there. We expected that Knick would have years more ahead of him. More customers to become friends with at Knick’s Tavern. More buildings to construct for clients who become family. More time to watch his family grow and flourish.
 
We have hard decisions ahead of us. No plans were put in place, nothing prepared us for this.

They say that people always wait too long to ask to help before it's too late. 

So now we're asking.
 
Please help if you can, and please share with your networks.
 
On behalf of my entire family, we are so grateful and thank you.

To be completely transparent and to assure you that your donations are going directly to help Knick, we would like to share how the funds you have so generously donated will be used.

Knick has Medicare, which will only cover a certain amount of days in a skilled nursing facility. While his dementia has progressed rapidly, Knick is still able to care for himself and doesn’t require the needs of a skilled nursing facility at this time. He needs an assisted living facility with memory care, which Medicare does not cover. We are applying for Medicaid, which will cover some of the costs associated with an assisted living facility. But not all. And, this process will take a considerable amount of time.

With the counsel of Suplee & Shea PA, we have created a specific bank account only to be used for these additional funds required to pay for the medical care and assisted living expenses above and beyond what Medicaid will cover if approved. Scott Stone is serving as the executor of this account and will be responsible for allocating the funds appropriately and responsibly.

Scott Stone is my domestic partner, legally declared by the City of Sarasota. He is also an employee of Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System and has been for more than 20 years. His experience with this type of situation gives us confidence that Knick's care and finances will be overseen properly with someone with experience and love. 

Scott will be responsible for vetting all medical and assisted living expenses associated with funds withdrawn from this GoFundMe account and will consolidate with the appropriate receipts.

Again, we are so thankful for your support and care during this time. We will continue to keep you updated throughout this entire process to communicate that we are being responsible stewards of your dollars directly to support Knick’s continued long-term care.

Forever, humbly grateful. Thank you.
 
Knickole Barger