Help Jen and Brian Recover from Jen's Stroke
Donation protected
Our delightful, vivacious, smart, thoughtful friend Jen Alonzo suffered a stroke in early October. Though her physical body seems to have come through more or less intact, it's less certain how her cognitive abilities will be affected in the long term, which in turn will affect her personal, family, and professional lives. She has a good prognosis but an unknown timeframe. In the meantime, there are medical bills.
Her husband, Brian, described the situation better than I ever could, so permit me to quote from his (ridiculously eloquent) Facebook posts about Jen's stroke:
* "Two weeks ago, Jenifer came down with what we would learn to be an atypical pneumonia, mycoplasma pneumonia. In extremely rare cases, this pneumonia can cause blood clots and, in still rarer cases, strokes. On Sunday night, Jenifer suffered two such strokes resulting in symptoms of aphasia and confusion."
* Since then, her doctors told her, "You have had a serious brain trauma. It’s concentrated in the area of the brain associated with higher order cognition- I.e language, memory, and attention. You can navigate your house just fine because that’s automatic, all muscle memory and known spaces. Cooking is okay - again physical and immediate, concrete and in the moment. Reading a detailed recipe or essay, not so much."
She and Brian have significant known medical bills to pay now, and, perhaps worse, the unknown potential for medical and recovery bills in the future. Even with good health insurance, which Jen and Brian have, a health condition like this is still more expensive than many of us can handle on our own.
Though I had to do some arm-twisting, Brian and Jen have acquiesced to my suggestion to do a gofundme campaign. I saw in response to Brian's Facebook posts, not surprisingly, that Jen and Brian have many loving friends and family members who WANT to help them get through this, but don't know how. Many, like myself, live far away so we can't bring over casseroles or babysit children. As a financial planner, I am here to attest that Money Is Very Useful.
We're asking for $16,000:
$10,000: maximum out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for 2018
$4,000: 8 additional weeks of therapy at Frazier Neural Rehab
$2,000: Miscellaneous additional medical expenses (CT scans, MRI's, and other diagnostics in 2019, provided no further interventions are necessary).
Since Jen's stroke, the Alonzo/Wells household has been down to one income, and their expenses have exploded, thanks to medical bills and the extra care Jen needs. As you can imagine, dealing with this and the holidays with two children is challenging, to say the least.
On the one hand, I recognize that asking for financial help from you during the holidays is a Big Ask. On the other, this is what the spirit of the holidays and community--however far flung--are all about, right? Please help me show and share our love and appreciation for Jen, Brian, Fischer, and Meredith by making a contribution to help cover their medical bills. Their need doesn't stop after the holidays, so if you can't swing it until January or later, please do consider helping them out then.
If you have questions, please reach out to me [email redacted] (I'm in Bellingham, WA) or Brian via Facebook (if you're craving poetry in the guise of prose).
Her husband, Brian, described the situation better than I ever could, so permit me to quote from his (ridiculously eloquent) Facebook posts about Jen's stroke:
* "Two weeks ago, Jenifer came down with what we would learn to be an atypical pneumonia, mycoplasma pneumonia. In extremely rare cases, this pneumonia can cause blood clots and, in still rarer cases, strokes. On Sunday night, Jenifer suffered two such strokes resulting in symptoms of aphasia and confusion."
* Since then, her doctors told her, "You have had a serious brain trauma. It’s concentrated in the area of the brain associated with higher order cognition- I.e language, memory, and attention. You can navigate your house just fine because that’s automatic, all muscle memory and known spaces. Cooking is okay - again physical and immediate, concrete and in the moment. Reading a detailed recipe or essay, not so much."
She and Brian have significant known medical bills to pay now, and, perhaps worse, the unknown potential for medical and recovery bills in the future. Even with good health insurance, which Jen and Brian have, a health condition like this is still more expensive than many of us can handle on our own.
Though I had to do some arm-twisting, Brian and Jen have acquiesced to my suggestion to do a gofundme campaign. I saw in response to Brian's Facebook posts, not surprisingly, that Jen and Brian have many loving friends and family members who WANT to help them get through this, but don't know how. Many, like myself, live far away so we can't bring over casseroles or babysit children. As a financial planner, I am here to attest that Money Is Very Useful.
We're asking for $16,000:
$10,000: maximum out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for 2018
$4,000: 8 additional weeks of therapy at Frazier Neural Rehab
$2,000: Miscellaneous additional medical expenses (CT scans, MRI's, and other diagnostics in 2019, provided no further interventions are necessary).
Since Jen's stroke, the Alonzo/Wells household has been down to one income, and their expenses have exploded, thanks to medical bills and the extra care Jen needs. As you can imagine, dealing with this and the holidays with two children is challenging, to say the least.
On the one hand, I recognize that asking for financial help from you during the holidays is a Big Ask. On the other, this is what the spirit of the holidays and community--however far flung--are all about, right? Please help me show and share our love and appreciation for Jen, Brian, Fischer, and Meredith by making a contribution to help cover their medical bills. Their need doesn't stop after the holidays, so if you can't swing it until January or later, please do consider helping them out then.
If you have questions, please reach out to me [email redacted] (I'm in Bellingham, WA) or Brian via Facebook (if you're craving poetry in the guise of prose).
Organizer and beneficiary
Meg Bartelt
Organizer
Louisville, KY
Brian Wells
Beneficiary
