Jerry Moody and family need your help

Although Jerry Moody, a caring and loving family man, and a hard working, self employed business owner has had surgery in the past, never before has he and his family faced such dire financial instability. Unable even to throw a ball with his oldest son, dance with his 6 year old daughter or pick up and carry his toddler son, Jerry in no way can provide for his family.

Today is Monday December 11th. Most of us are finishing holiday shopping, decorating, and making plans to spend time with friends and family for the holidays. Jerry and his family are preparing for him to have another spinal surgery, one week before Christmas on December 18th.This will be the second within 8 months, and third in two years. This surgery will be the second revision of an attempted fusion for L3-5. Jerry’s body has absorbed the bone grafts from both of the last surgeries causing the screws that reside inside the bones of his vertebrae to take all of the stress caused by the minimal movements he is able to make, thus causing the screws to become loose. The movement of the loose screws inside the bone results in excruciating pain for Jerry daily. We are hopeful this surgery will result in stability and pain reduction and give Jerry the opportunity to return to some semblance of normalcy in his daily life. He has been living with extreme limitations for the last 8 months such as an inability to bend, lift or twist at all. He is unable to tie his own shoes, stand or sit for any length of time, or even walk the length of one city block. Jerry is incapable of cooking his own meals or participating in household chores. In addition Jerry was recently told that he will not be able to return to his chosen profession, a lawn, garden and handyman business he has owned and operated, solely, for the past 12 years. All of Jerry’s life has been affected by his numerous health issues and surgeries like; brain surgery at age 13 and massive spinal fusion at age 17, but he has always been able to heal, pull up his bootstraps and work even harder to take care of business, but now his body isn’t healing and he is not able to work. It is unlikely that he will be able to return to the workforce in other ways as well due to the fragility caused by his failed surgeries, meaning he has applied for disability. The process for getting the assistance needed can take six months to a year to take effect. Jerry has been the sole provider for his family since the birth of their youngest son, and now due to his severe physical limitations his wife Tabea is unable to return to work as she is his caregiver, and that of their two youngest children ages 6 and almost 2. Thus, thow completely depleted. Through all the years of chronic pain caused by his scoliosis, spina bifida, degenerative disc disease, chiari malformation and past surgeries, he has never been one to complain, and has always had a smile, a kind word and time for anyone who needs help. This young family will be unable to pay their bills moving forward, and need help to make it through the winter with a roof over their heads, food on the table and electricity to heat their home. During this time of giving we ask for help from our community for a family in need and a man who deserves our care and support. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your generosity. If you are not in a position to donate, please share this link to spread the word. Happy Holidays!