Help Me Help Joe
Just before Father's Day, Joe went to get something to eat at 6:30PM, couldn't eat it all and went to bed not feeling good... and when he woke up in pain at 2:00AM... he was paralyzed. Huh? I didn't know that could happen...
Pray, Donate, Share
Photo: The primary photo features Joe with his daughters Ashley and Destiny. Each of the photos on the right were taken on Father's Day 2016 at Salem Hospital. The photos at the bottom are of Joe doing decals on my trailer, and then the finished result (I showed this simply to establish to folks that Joe is a real guy and someone that I know and have interacted with).
Latest News
See the Morningstar Church video
"God works in mysterious ways", is what Don said when another thing was checked off of the list for Joe today. Don and Rob showed up to deliver a wheel chair accessible van and power chair today. Click here to view the full amazing story.
Not to be lost on the day... tonight Joe ventured out with my family and attended church with us at Morning Star Church in Salem. A nice way to finish a great day and week full of God's great blessings.
Today I am sharing stories of two of those gifts. First, Joe got to meet with his employer for the first time since TM on Friday and his employer presented him with a Bonus Check that covered all but $20 of his rent check! Second, a co-worker came up to me at work and when she found a $100 bill in a shoe that she and her husband just purchased (a "Benny") - they looked at each other and said, "Let's donate this to Larry's friend Joe" (I'm sure the "Benny" guy/gal would feel great about that).
It is giving hearts like these and others that are helping us realize that communities can gather together and make a huge difference. Considering all the crap happening in the world, it sure is nice to see love exhibited in so many ways.
Joe left the hospital today and was fortunately transported to Windsor Health Rehab Center for continued therapy! The good news is Joe will continue to get some therapy. The bad news, Joe's therapy has been reduced from 3 hours per day at the hospital to 1 hour per day. We are currently looking into rehab options that will maintain or increase his therapy - please contact me if you can offer this service to Joe and help become a part of his success story.
Don Lulay (of Don Lulay Homes) met with Joe last night, and work began at Joe's house today! Click the fun photo I captured of Joe with Don.
Added PayPal as a donation option.
Full News Announcements List
Social Media
I plan to post in the following areas to enable people to track progress with Joe as he takes on this life challenge.
Joe has created a Facebook page called Living with Transverse Myelitis - Joe's Journey, so you can track how he is doing and post positive comments that will lift him up.
This is an overview video I made for my Rides Done Right channel. It basically says what is found on this web page, but in a video that takes about 8 minutes.
Participating Organizations
Donating the labor and materials to make Joe's house accessible.
Donating a wheelchair accessible van and power chair, so Joe can get some of his freedom back soon.
Mike Studer and his team has been working with Joe on all of the Rehab he can handle, and helping him push for the best results possible.
Press
Direct press requests to Larry at helpmehelpjoe@gmail.com or call my land line at 503-743-9999 (no text).
Video
Video | Story | Facebook
Video | Story | Facebook
Details re: Praying, Donating, and Sharing
Pray
Joe believes in a God that can heal - both the BIG and small things in life and asks that you please remember him and his daughters (Ashley and Destiny) in your prayer life.
JoeJasmerDonations@gmail.com
Copy Joe's donation email above, then login to your PayPal account, then choose Send Money to Friends and Family.
After logging into PayPal - choose the Friends and Family option to send your donation to Joe as a gift (since you are not making a purchase). Choosing this option will allow 100% of your donation to be sent to Joe without any fees - if your PayPal is connected to your bank account or your PayPal account has a positive balance, but their is a fee if your PayPal is connected to a debit or credit card (see more details here).
Checks / Bill Pay
Checks can be made out or electronic Bill Pay (create new Payee) to "Joe Jasmer" and sent to...Pioneer Trust Bank
P.O. Box 2305
Salem, OR 97308
I talked to Joe about the donation options and suggested that he may want to consider starting this out "old school". These options enable anyone that donate the
additional assurance that every penny of any donation makes it directly to Joe without anyone in the middle taking anything... it ALL
goes to help Joe. I am also asking what may seem like a bold request, but something to consider - please consider donating more than
one time... Joe has immediate needs which require a significant impact, but the forecast for the next few months seems reasonable to expect
that there will be ongoing additional expenses as he tries to get into a situation where he is back to work in some capacity and working full time hours to make the same
income to pay his bills, so anything big or small on a somewhat monthly basis for some period of time would be incredibly helpful.
When I told Joe I was going to do this he stated that he would appreciate anyone contacting him to please leave their name and contact information so he or his daughters could thank them personally. Note: Joe will not have access to your personal messages or information that go through the Bank - we are giving that option for folks that feel more comfortable donating via that method.
When I told Joe I was going to do this he stated that he would appreciate anyone contacting him to please leave their name and contact information so he or his daughters could thank them personally. Note: Joe will not have access to your personal messages or information that go through the Bank - we are giving that option for folks that feel more comfortable donating via that method.
Share
We are living in a time where it is extremely easy to pass information on to our friends - to help others to join in and do something great for someone... the more people we can reach, the better chances we have of trying to fully cover these daunting short and longer term expenses. I beseech you to share this with your friends and ask them to give generously to this kind hearted guy. Share this web page and/or the Facebook Page.Donators So Far
In addition to the premium donating organizations listed above and mentioned below in the Primary Needs section, the following list identifies some of our new and old friends helping out Joe: Jeff, Nadine, Payton, and Sierra Cysewski; Mayonne Hoefling-Thompson; Emilee and Rob Weathers (power chair); JF Nelson, Betty Shaffer, Sue Fennern, Pam McFadin, Verlon, Ashley and Katherine Pond, Scott Bremmer, Kollmeyer, Pam Fay, Joseph Loeber, Ajay Reddy, Peddi Redd, Maria Thorpe, Niloofar Shahmohammadi, Patric Spence, Crystal Booker, Marilyn Martin, James Worlein, Joseph Loeber, Marion Lee, K. Bellows and thanks to people like you, the list is still growing.Facts About my 37 year old Friend Joe
- He held a full time job at his current employer for the last 10 years;
- His employer didn't provide insurance;
- Joe has NOT been on any kind of public assistance for help since years before his current job. I am mentioning this so you understand his hardworking character and drive to be self supportive;
- He is the single father of two daughters (ages 18 and 19);
- Closest other relative (in the Salem area) was his mother, who just died unexpectedly on April 4, 2016. Joe didn't have an inheritance (mother was charitable and left what she had to charity) - and only mentioning because I am talking about Joe's financial status and want people to know that Joe wasn't left with additional funds in this tragedy. Joe arranged and paid for the services out of his savings (which drained what he had);
Joe was put on OHP insurance when he was admitted, but his insurance has severe limitations. One of the major problems we found was that because Joe's diagnosis was Transverse Myelitis with paralysis from the naval down, his coverage fell into the same category as someone who got paralysis via a severed cord - they focus on the diagnosis (paralysis). With a severed cord, they assume you will be paralyzed the rest of your life - so they simply give you a certain number of days where their therapy focuses on showing you how to live your life in a wheel chair, then they kick you out to go home (or wherever) and live in your wheel chair. THIS HAS TO BE CHANGED! If you are diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis in this normal circumstance, you only get minimal therapy and (as Joe found) his progress was significantly reduced. Eventually progress will stop, and whatever movement the patient has is what they will be left with. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that if two people had the same issue and both had a window of say 1 year before the body would no longer progress, and Patient 1 rehab'd 3 hours a week, and Patient 2 rehab'd 2 hours per day... at the end of the year Patient 1 and Patient 2 will live out their lives with significantly different outcomes! Does that sound fair? We are talking about people's ability to walk, so why wouldn't society be doing EVERYTHING they could to insure the best possible outcome?
I suggest that patients with this diagnosis should enter into the most agressive therapy they can all the way until there is no longer any progression. The person's quality of life would then be the best society could offer him, and even from society's non-compassionate bottom line (how much did it cost us) - the long term success would greatly reduce the life long assistance costs.
Primary Needs
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Continued/Improved Rehab
Joe was released from the hospital on Wednesday July 6 and placed in a temporary facility that reduced his rehab from 3 hours per day to 3 hours per week - despite the fact that he was making great progress. Joe immediately noted a major reduction in his progression. We found a rehab facility that provided a free assessment and stated that they will work with Joe to increase his physical therapy without extra above what the insurance will cover! Joe is currently back home and is no able to drive himself around with his van with hand controls. He has been working extra hard in rehab and home to continue accelerating his progress. Each week has shown amazing progress. -
Transportation
With the help of great friends The Lulay Group donated a van and power chair for Joe to use to be able to get to where he needs to go without assistance. Lulay's Car Connection processed the accessible van contribution from the Pflaum Family, and Dave Power Automotive provided servicing on it. See the complete article of how God orchestrated this amazing contribution. -
Income - Still Not Funded
Joe has not worked since June 10, 2016 so will have a reduced check to pay bills this month. He hasn't worked at all in July which will affect his August bills. He didn't have any insurance when this started, so all med bills prior to insurance isn't covered. He will still be responsible for whatever his insurance doesn't cover.
Joe has returned to work part time.
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Vocational Rehab - Still Not Funded
Joe cannot work the job he has done for the last 10 years. He will need to get some kind of career training and seek a new job.
Joe is back to work part time! -
Accessible Home
Don Lulay Homes has fully donated labor and materials to make Joe's house accessible! Several friends associated with their crew to contribute and that included: Withers Lumber, supplying building material; Salem Door and Supply, supplying doors/trim; Rodda Paint, supplying paint; Ken Jacobe Painting; Commercial Sand/Gravel, supplying concrete; John Mills Concrete; Joe Vanderhey, Bill Sexton, Don Allenby, and Home Depot.