Main fundraiser photo

Jamie hit by van in Bangkok


On Thursday afternoon, 1/30/19 (US)/ Friday morning (Thailand), our friends Jamie and Jesse were hit by a mini van while walking off the curb to a Grab car (like Uber).  The police report says the driver was going too fast and may have been drinking.  Jesse (pictured above left) sustained lacerations, received stitches, and was released from the hospital.  Jamie, however, had both legs shattered, a broken pelvis, and internal bleeding.

After four hours in surgery, Jamie has two dozen pins in his left leg and a dozen pins in his right leg.  He also has cuts on his face, a ruptured bladder, a bruised kidney, and his pelvis is broken in four places.  He has also sustained a light head injury and had a small stroke, sometime around his surgery which is causing some mobility issues with his left arm.  He will need at least one additional surgery to put a screw in his pelvis and an IVC filter in  to stop blood clots from reaching his lungs.  He's awake and doing well, but he's going to be stuck in Bangkok at least until it's safe for him to travel on a plane.  Tara (pictured above right) will be staying with him until he's able to travel. How long it will take for Jamie to heal enough to travel is unknown at this time.   Our friend Corrie Lynn flew in from Australia for part of the vacation and stayed to help support Tara and Jamie for a little a while as well.

Expenses (updated 2/9/19 with what we know of at the moment and anticipated future costs - full transparency):
* On 2/8/19 we found out that Jamie's health insurance is willing to pay his hospital bills in Thailand, which is GREAT news and alleviates some of the financial stress of mounting medical bills for the GFM campaign.  That said, there are still bills that are not covered and I'll do my best to try to outline everything below.

- First hospital bill (#1) is $15,047. (Petcharavej Hospital)  This was for the first two days, including surgery.
----- This bill was mostly covered by the driver's car insurance (reduced to $600; Tara paid this with GFM; it should be reimbursed by insurance) 
- First hospital bill (#2) is $1,145. (Petcharavej Hospital) This was for three additional days of care.
----- Unsure what the total was or who paid it.  Anything paid from the GFM will need to be reimbursed by insurance.
----- Medicine was discounted 15% through negotiation
- Hospital ambulance transfer from Petcharavej Hospital to Bangkok Hospital is $500.
----- This would be not be covered by insurance and is an expense covered by GFM funds.
- Second hospital bill (#1) is $6,800 (Bangkok Hospital). Needed for emission to the hospital.
----- Used for CT scan, MRI, and pelvic scan.  This was paid for by GFM funds and needs to be reimbursed by insurance.
- Second hospital bill (#2) is $9,800 (Bangkok Hospital). This is for 3 days in the ICU and acute/orthopedic care.
----- This was paid for by GFM funds and needs to be reimbursed by insurance.
- Second hospital bill (#3) is $15,000.
----- This was paid for by GFM funds and needs to be reimbursed by insurance.
- Second hospital IVC filter surgery is $7,400.
----- This was paid for by GFM funds and needs to be reimbursed by insurance.
- Rent, utilities, car, insurance for Jamie's home and his car payment was est. $1,170  for February. 
----- This was handled by Tara and Jesse directly.  I have limited info beyond it being taken care of.
- Lodging and food for Tara and Corrie
----- Donations have taken care of lodging  
----- Food $150/week (Tara/Corrie/Jamie)
----- Cabs $150/week (this is going down now due to closer lodging being in walking distance)
- Thai lawyer
----- This is paid for with GFM funds at a rate of $111 per hour (currently about $444 and growing as he assists with insurance reimbursements)


Okay, if you read all that, aside from a bunch of reimbursement paperwork and backtracking (which we've asked the Thai lawyer to assist with).  That leaves the GFM depleted and the rest on credit cards.

Medical Transportation back to the US (this will NOT be covered by insurance):
- Sky Nurses (Florida) for about $28,000 and Tara can travel with Jamie to Dubai to O'Hare

Civil case:
- the driver's family is very poor and Thailand has a criminal case against the driver (wife).  The driver's family has two children as well.  Since they assisted with negotiating the first hospital bills and 

2/8/19 Embassy Update:
- Tammy Baldwin's office and Ron Johnson's office are supporting efforts with the US Embassy
- We're currently working through repatriation  loans and CVC financial aide to try to save some of the GFM funds for when Jamie gets home 
- 2/17/19 This has been a complete failure by the US Embassy

We're asking for $55,000 and will update from there as medical bills are solidified and/or appear.
- Rehabilitation costs/insurance coverage are still TBD
- Ambulance costs from O'Hare airport to Milwaukee are still TBD
 
Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated!  Every little bit helps.  All funds will go immediately and directly to Tara so they can be used in Thailand for her and Jamie (we do not need to hit goal for the funds to become available so every donation counts).  Jamie's family in WI and NC are aware of this campaign, have full visibility, and support it.

At this time, this is the best way to show Jamie your support.

Thank you!


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Additional notes:
We know there will be a long road to recovery for Jamie (over a year) so let's keep going.  There are fundraiser events in the works here in Milwaukee - support is pouring in from Chicago, Detroit and from as far as China and Australia.  Some people have asked about donating Hilton points.  You can donate them to account#1055897803.
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Donations 

  • Alison Loshak
    • $50 
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Alexander Mharcei
Organizer
Milwaukee, WI
Tara Pietz
Beneficiary

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