Jesse's leg braces
Donation protected
As many of you know, when Jesse was 17 he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. He went from playing football & being extremely active, pursuing a career in plumbing & learning the trade of shoeing horses - to everything in his life coming to a grinding halt.
Since then he has had four brain surgeries, eye surgeries, numerous procedures, chemotherapy & radiation. Then to make matters worse, he unfortunately contracted a bacterial infection from one of his brain surgeries and came down with spinal meningitis. He became very ill from this and ended up on life support (twice)....BUT Jesse is a fighter & in his words he jokingly said "you can't get rid of me that easily" and he pulled through. He continues to fight as his road is now more difficult with all that he has been through and lost -- but he also lives each day grateful for what he does have, as he knows how quickly life can change in an instant.
But as many of you have experienced--Jesse is one of THE most joyful, positive and encouraging people to be around. He barely ever complains and is the most giving person I have EVER met.
Jesse lives now with a brain injury & a lower spinal cord injury as a result of the brain tumour, multiple surgeries & spinal meningitis. The meningitis left him with what appears to be permanent nerve damage in his legs and because of this he needs to walk with AFO's (leg braces).
Which brings me to this ' Go Fund Me' page. Jesse has been through a couple of pairs of leg braces now and fortunately while he was still under the age of 19, his leg braces were covered. Once through the Variety Club & another time through the Orthopedic Group that makes these custom AFO's (leg braces).
Jesse is now 23 and is in desperate need of a new pair. The ones he has are worn out and his prescription has changed. He is still using what he has but then this week they cracked, simply because they are worn out. Prior to them doing this though he was in for an appointment where they assessed him and determined what kind of AFO he has to go into. And with his current ones cracking now, he needs a new pair as soon as possible & even then, this will take time to make & get.
We have been told that the new ones he gets will last much longer than the ones he currently has as they are made out of carbon fiber-and are much more durable. The down side for us is it is looking like he will get next to no coverage for them.
Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of organizations that offer funding for adults for this type of thing. BUT we are still pursuing & looking into ways where we might be able to find something (filling out tons of paperwork for diff people/organizations, doctors notes etc).
In the meantime, we were told by the Orthopedic Group to reach out to our community of family & friends to see if we could raise the funds on behalf of Jesse (& us).
The cost of Jesse's new leg braces are way beyond us financially as they are just under $12,000. As his mom it's humbling to ask for donations for such a large amount of money....& going into the Christmas season where many people are already feeling tapped out financially...but then there's the other side of me that would love to see this all come together for the sake of Jesse as he is such an incredible human being to be around and is always giving to the needs of others.
If I could ask for those who read this to even just pass this post along--our family would be so grateful :)
So go ahead and post it on FB and share it with whoever you want!
Thank you in advance...
~The Goerzens....Duane, Mel, Elijah & Sarah, Jesse, Micah & Ethan!
Since then he has had four brain surgeries, eye surgeries, numerous procedures, chemotherapy & radiation. Then to make matters worse, he unfortunately contracted a bacterial infection from one of his brain surgeries and came down with spinal meningitis. He became very ill from this and ended up on life support (twice)....BUT Jesse is a fighter & in his words he jokingly said "you can't get rid of me that easily" and he pulled through. He continues to fight as his road is now more difficult with all that he has been through and lost -- but he also lives each day grateful for what he does have, as he knows how quickly life can change in an instant.
But as many of you have experienced--Jesse is one of THE most joyful, positive and encouraging people to be around. He barely ever complains and is the most giving person I have EVER met.
Jesse lives now with a brain injury & a lower spinal cord injury as a result of the brain tumour, multiple surgeries & spinal meningitis. The meningitis left him with what appears to be permanent nerve damage in his legs and because of this he needs to walk with AFO's (leg braces).
Which brings me to this ' Go Fund Me' page. Jesse has been through a couple of pairs of leg braces now and fortunately while he was still under the age of 19, his leg braces were covered. Once through the Variety Club & another time through the Orthopedic Group that makes these custom AFO's (leg braces).
Jesse is now 23 and is in desperate need of a new pair. The ones he has are worn out and his prescription has changed. He is still using what he has but then this week they cracked, simply because they are worn out. Prior to them doing this though he was in for an appointment where they assessed him and determined what kind of AFO he has to go into. And with his current ones cracking now, he needs a new pair as soon as possible & even then, this will take time to make & get.
We have been told that the new ones he gets will last much longer than the ones he currently has as they are made out of carbon fiber-and are much more durable. The down side for us is it is looking like he will get next to no coverage for them.
Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of organizations that offer funding for adults for this type of thing. BUT we are still pursuing & looking into ways where we might be able to find something (filling out tons of paperwork for diff people/organizations, doctors notes etc).
In the meantime, we were told by the Orthopedic Group to reach out to our community of family & friends to see if we could raise the funds on behalf of Jesse (& us).
The cost of Jesse's new leg braces are way beyond us financially as they are just under $12,000. As his mom it's humbling to ask for donations for such a large amount of money....& going into the Christmas season where many people are already feeling tapped out financially...but then there's the other side of me that would love to see this all come together for the sake of Jesse as he is such an incredible human being to be around and is always giving to the needs of others.
If I could ask for those who read this to even just pass this post along--our family would be so grateful :)
So go ahead and post it on FB and share it with whoever you want!
Thank you in advance...
~The Goerzens....Duane, Mel, Elijah & Sarah, Jesse, Micah & Ethan!
Organizer
Melody Goerzen
Organizer
Maple Ridge, BC
