Jeremy & Sarah- Lending a Leg Up

Jeremy and Sarah are two of the most genuine people I have ever met. If you know them, you would most definitely agree. Jeremy would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need, and now Jeremy and Sarah need our help.

Sarah will undoubtedly give me an earful and a stern talking to about starting a GoFundMe page for them… But seriously, when two people like Sarah and Jeremy need help, they are not going to ask for it, SO here is a way we can help them.

Brace yourself, this story is long… but I suggest you read the whole thing!

For those who don’t know, Jeremy hurt his foot at work in May of 2016, and in June, 2016, he could no longer work, and thus began the steady uphill battle that has led to present day.

After months and countless attempts with physical therapy and injections to fix his pain, his first surgery was in November 2016. During surgery, Jeremy has severe complications from negligent hospital practices resulting in nerve damage, blood clots, and permanent damage to his leg and foot. Those complications caused more operations, more pain, and more time away from his family. On December 8th, 2016, Jeremy was admitted to the hospital for blood clots, poor circulation, and lack of pulse in his leg from the knee down.

The fear that he might lose his leg was at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Sarah and the kids watched helplessly as Jeremy spent nearly a week in the ICU. Doctors worked around the clock to keep the blood clots from causing more damage. The ongoing issues from the original surgery have led to where Jeremy is today. Doctor appointments, surgeries, multiple prescriptions, more surgeries, spinal injections… Need I go on?

Just a little dopey after surgery!! LOL

Jeremy is now on permanent disability which doesn’t even begin to cover their monthly living expenses. Sarah is working her butt off just to keep the family afloat. However, the bills pouring in daily amount to much over what many people make in a year. Workers comp claims and malpractice suits are astronomical and looking less and less like an option for this family. Future surgeries and physical therapy are imminent. The fear that Jeremy might still lose his leg is a real thing.  It is not all covered.

They need our support.

Now, you might be thinking… But Audrey, didn’t they just take a trip to Disneyland? Why yes they did! It looked like they had a blast! The twins will tell you all about Mickey and Minnie, how pretty the princesses are in real life, and how Goofy loves hugs!

But Audrey, if they need our help, how did they afford to take that trip? Well, before your get all huffy puffy and judgmental… that trip was paid for long before Jeremy got hurt. Well before any of these complications and bills.

Sarah and Jeremy are both well aware of how their trip may be perceived, and what people might think. However, talking with Jeremy put it into perspective for me, and hopefully will put it in perspective for everyone else too.

Jeremy said, they wanted to cancel the trip and not go, they debated for weeks about not going, weighed the pros and cons but ultimately they decided to just go for it... It was already paid for anyway.

He said,
“I needed a break. WE needed a break. I needed to see my kids happy, having fun, and worry free. My oldest is really struggling with me being hurt, she worries I will die, and she is blaming God for doing this to me. I needed her to be happy, and to just be a kid. She, out of all of us, NEEDED this trip. It was a really hard decision to actually go… we know what people will think, how they will judge us, and talk behind our backs… but we needed this trip as a family.”

Makes perfect sense to me!

These two will NEVER ask for help. They will not tell you they are scared, and dreading more medical bills. They don’t want to feel like a charity case. They need a hand up… not a hand out. There is a difference.

They need our help now. Help us reach our goal (or more!) to help lessen the stress of life, reduce the anxiety of incoming medical bills, help with buying groceries for the kids, and hopefully have enough to get by.

Please find it in your heart to help this family. If you cannot afford to help them financially then please help them spiritually. Their battle is a long way from being over.