Genesis's Surgery Fund

It's wonderfully exciting news that Genesis has been approved for and secured a date for surgery this September, but it comes with a very grim prospect. Insurance is covering the lion's share of the costs of the procedure, but between the attached fees, co-pay, and the cost of recovery, it still very well may not happen.

Genesis needs your help. Due to the economic downturn, there's barely enough money to keep a roof overhead and food on the table. At the same time, any delay in the surgery means sacrificing the very deposit that drained the last drop of his savings. Worse still, any further delay in the procedure could mean pursuing it in a climate with reduced or non-existent legal access depending on what comes this November.

This procedure is crucial to Genesis's well-being, literally a life saving procedure. The suffering he now endures without it is only comforted by the prospect of being able to afford the copay at his pre-operative appointment in August. To understand how important it is, you'd have to see what I've seen the years he's been striving towards his surgery. He has cut his weight by a third to be cleared by his healthcare providers as fit for the procedure. He has navigated his way through a maze of medical paperwork and hoops for insurance to give him the coverage he now has. He has sold the few fine things he owns, and now does without day after day in an effort to save the remaining money he needs to cover the procedure.

There is nothing on his mind each day besides this final struggle towards the finish line. There is next to nothing he has not already sacrificed to make this life saving procedure happen. There is nothing more we can do on our own to secure these funds. There is nothing more terrifying to me than the prospect of what will happen to him should he lose this chance.

To our dear friends, family, and any kind stranger who may be pausing to read these words, I beg, please help. This procedure is life or death for Genesis. I worry each day without it for his health and wellbeing. These funds are the bare minimum of what it will cost to cover the remainder that insurance leaves to be paid out of pocket, and anything above this amount will go directly to his post-operative recovery as well as treatment of his chronic health issues.

I cannot spell out in words how much this help means to us. Many of you have had the fortune of meeting Genesis, sharing in the wealth of love, wisdom, and passionate support he brings to his loved ones, as well as the wit, joy, and grace he brings to day to day interactions with neighbors and strangers alike. I would not be the person I am today without the benefit of knowing him, and I cannot fathom the prospect of going forward in a world devoid of his light.

Please take a moment to think on this request. The smallest commitment towards his health is not only uplifting Genesis, it is quite literally preserving him. Would you please join me in the fight to preserve him?