Help for Joshua Coffy and His Family

If you are reading this now, you likely know that this is an update about Josh Coffy, husband, father, and artist. I am sorry to say that this is the heart-wrenching news that all of us who have loved Josh and his art, who have felt the love he feels for his family, Theresa and Darwin—and for all of us—have long been fearing.

Josh Coffy, a talented, kind-spirited San Francisco painter and dedicated volunteer for ArtSpan, has been living with kidney failure for the past five years, a condition which has required him to receive regular dialysis three times a week. On November 27th of this year, Josh went into the hospital for surgery to address blood clots that had blocked the dialysis port in his arm. He never received the surgery, as he had a fever. His fever skyrocketed and turned into sepsis. Josh was fighting for his life against a staph infection in his bloodstream. He was rushed to the emergency room, then the intensive care unit. He was intubated and received a temporary dialysis port. Josh is a fighter, and he beat the infection, but while trying to recover, his heart failed several times. He went into a coma and has remained there for the past two and a half weeks, with his loving wife, 13-year old son, his mother, friends and community members by his side day and night.

His medical team explored why Josh hasn’t awakened and an MRI revealed he has had many mini strokes all over his brain. They have run several tests to uncover what is happening, but two days ago, they ran out of medical options. To make matters worse, he and his family are currently in an unstable living situation, which is only adding to their stress as they focus each day only on Josh and being with him. Adding to this pain is the additional poignancy of this happening over the holidays.

Josh and his family desperately need our help right now. They require financial support to help cover their enormous medical expenses as well as any security deposits and moving costs from having to leave their home of 18 years. I know all too well from my recent experience of being a caretaker to my husband during his recent medical emergency, the enormous amount of love and support, from not just family, but community, that is needed to get through the many long days and weeks. Aside from the overwhelming emotional challenges, a shocking number of expenses crop up—for medical supplies, yes, but also the simple things, such as food, housing, and rides. These all add up quickly, and in such a difficult time, having even a bit of financial security can make all the difference in day-to-day existence.

Please open your heart to our dear friend and his family who are suffering greatly right now. To know Josh is to know his incredible strength and fortitude, and how much he was willing to do in support of what he believed in. Now is our time to stand up and be strong for him; to support the strength of his wife Theresa and his son Darwin, and the network of family and friends standing with them daily at the hospital, and to let them know we are with them.

I will continue to provide updates as the family requests me to do so. For now, please watch this YouTube video made by Josh, featuring the song Gifts Given, which he wrote on his ukulele, for his son Darwin over 10 years ago.

This reveals the depth of his love for his family, and his talent to share that honest love in artful form:

Please, if you are at all able, donate right now to help Josh and his family. Any amount you can give will be very much appreciated and will help Josh and his family as they face this difficult and uncertain future. Friends, family and community members, please share your stories of Josh, along with any pictures in the comments section. Thank you all for your help. We will be updating this page regularly.

To keep Josh in your thoughts, please spend some time appreciating his art and talents by visiting the links below.

View Josh’s beautiful and inspiring paintings here: https://undersong.com

Social media links: Instagram: https://undersong.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshuacoffy

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giftprolific

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jcoffy

Article about Josh and his artwork: https://brokeassstuart.com/2023/11/02/coffy-art-open-studios-all-over-san-francisco/

Article about his Bird Song mural:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/art/article/Walking-the-murals-of-Market-Street-6440557.php