Please help us bring Joe home and honor him

On July 16th, 2024, our father, Joe Baldwin, was taken by ambulance to Northern Westchester Hospital with possible sepsis. The exact cause of the sepsis remained unknown for a few days as his condition worsened. On July 20th, we were told that the sepsis was caused by a bacteria that he’d picked up a while back and never knew it. So, when something as simple as a UTI set in, the bacteria just took over.

There have been many ups and downs over the last 21 days, including a COVID diagnosis on day 14, most likely from the hospital itself as the COVID hospitalizations were increasing during that week. We still remained hopeful and celebrated every high with lots of hope he was improving. This past Thursday evening, we were told he wasn’t getting better and may not, and by Friday, as a family along with the help of the doctors, began to face the reality that he would not recover.

We’ve held a close vigil around the clock and today he asked us to bring him home, he doesn’t want to pass in the hospital. This is how we’ve gotten to this point. Insurance is a cruel industry that I’ll never understand. Even as the medical bills already begin to trickle in and it’s already becoming overwhelming for our mother, the hospice process is an entirely different level of overwhelming.

We learned today that most of hospice care is out of pocket. The costs are expected to amount to a very large sum, especially with bringing in round the clock care. We want to fulfill his wishes of being able to bring him home, surrounded by his family and all the love imaginable. And when the time comes, we’d want to honor him in the best way possible and help support our mother through this unimaginable loss by easing some of the burden.

On behalf of our family, we want to thank everyone for all of their love and support over the last 21 days and for their continued love, support, and prayers as we navigate the hospice and funeral process.