Jake's Recovery Fund

We are raising money for Jake Hanes who is 29 years old, a devoted husband and loving father of 3 little cuties.  Jake has always been the first to drop everything to help someone in need!  He is very active in his church, he loves to be outdoors camping and hunting,  he plays softball, football, basketball and golf.   Our goal is to give him the peace of mind to recover his physical body and not to worry about his immediate financial obligations in the coming months of recovery.  Although he has insurance and an understanding employer, the medical expenses are going to be lifelong and ongoing.

On Friday, May 1, 2015 my little brother Jake Hanes was in a tragic tree cutting accident.  The tree fell the wrong way and crushed the lower portions of his legs. It was a tender mercy that his wife was close by and he was able to call out to her for help.  We are so grateful Mel was there to save his life!

Jake was lifeflighted to the nearest hospital.  The  doctors were unfortunately  unable to save either one of his legs in surgery.  He had a second surgery on May 2nd and is now in critical but stable condition in the ICU.  Jake is scheduled for surgery on Monday to remove his right knee in preparation for the best possible outcome for a future prosthetic.  We are praying that it will not be necessary for the  doctors to remove any more of his left leg  and keep his left knee which will be instrumental in more mobility and strength with prosthetics.  The doctors have outlined at least 6 more surgeries in the coming weeks.  The prognosis is good but very long and hard.  The doctor has expressed that one prosthetic can cost as much as $50,000 and Jake will need 2 of them.   Jake will be in recovery  for at least 3 months and he is the sole provider for his adorable family.  

We sincerely appreciate your donation to help Jake, his family and his mounting medical bills .  

Please keep Jake and his family in your prayers.  THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS! <3

This is a beautiful letter that Melanie wanted to share with all of you:

The question we are all asking is what really happened? The truth is we have no idea. We do not know how the tree fell the wrong way or why Jake had to loose his legs. But there are some things we do know and that is what I would like to address.

I worried how my husband would react when he woke up to find he no longer had his legs. His initial response can be summed up by a short phone conversation he had with our 3 year old daughter Daphne. She asked, "Daddy are you ok?" His response, "Daphne for you I will be." What started out as a need to survive and care for our three children has grown into a renewed love of life and of people. Through this experience we are able to see the amazing goodness in people and in the world we live in.

We have received countless prayers, emails, texts, visits and phone calls from friends, family, aquaintances and even from people we have never met, expressing love and compassion for our family. Jake's work family (JH Kelly) gave Jake the ability to return to his job, provided our family with great insurance and treats Jake as if he was a brother. He talks so often of getting back to be them all. Donations have come from all over to help with the expenses that will come with Jake's new way of living. Our church family has taken care of our home, put together care packages for our children and stands ready to help with meals, babysitting and anything we need when we get home. Our brother in law and many volunteers are building a bathroom and bedroom addition to our home that is wheel chair accessible. The Medical staff here at Harbor View is taking amazing care of Jake physically but even more importanlty is lifting his spirits. They joke with him and love him - proving that laughter can be the best medicine and that Jake has not lost his sense of humor. They are incredible people. The list just keeps going. We cannot express the gratitude that our family feels for it all. Because of everyones goodness, my strong, capable husband has a desire to not only get thru this life but to love his new life without his legs. He may have lost his legs but thru this experience our family is gaining so much more.

So back to my first statement. What we do know... We know that the world we live in has so much good in it. Jake will walk again because of the incredible peolple in his life and his Savior Jesus Christ who has been our greatest support. He has never left us through this whole exprience and he will never leave us.

We have a long road ahead of us. And although we know that road will bring frustrations and heartache, We are hopeful it will be filled the love, hope, determination and goodness.

A card we recived from a friend while here in the hospital stated, "Jake the tree might have won the battle but you are going to win the war." Anyone who knows Jake knows that is so true. And thanks to our amazing support system and our Father in Heaven we have no where to go but up.

Lovingly,
Melanie, Jake, Paige, Daphne & Henry Hanes



Jake built this playhouse for his kids :)
Jake and his Mini-Me Son.