Jo Ann Grooms Recovery Fund

As most are already aware, Jo Ann suffered a terrible fall down the stairs while at home on April 14th. During the fall she hit her head and was found unconscious. To make matters worse, the fall directly impacted her brain tumor located deep in the left side of her brain. From the fall, Jo Ann suffered a subdural hematoma (blood outside of the brain) and received 7 staples. She spent a week at Meritus Health in Hagerstown, where she was treated and then transferred to Vindobona Rehabilitation Center in Frederick. She remained at Vindobona for 3 months. During her time there, progress remained constant but slow. Due to the sensitivity of her brain, Jo Ann has experienced some memory loss, difficulty finding the correct words, loss of basic motor skills and has lost movement in her right side. She requires constant help with everyday functions like eating, bathing, and moving.

A typical day for Jo Ann is very frustrating, as she remembers certain faces and events, but loses the details she knows she once experienced. She is slowly becoming more aware of her situation and is recognizing that she isn't able to move or do what she previously could.

In July, her husband Bill received news that the insurance company decided Jo Ann was not making fast enough progress to stay at Vindobona, even though she was making tremendous strides considering her case and what she's battling. Because of this, the insurance company sent her home on July 18th and required Bill to arrange for and cover in-home care and therapy. For Jo Ann & Bill, this means care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Insurance is covering minimal therapy and care but is not covering costs for someone to be with her daily, which is necessary at this point in the road.

We are asking for donations to help cover the costs for Jo Ann's in-home care while she continues to travel down this long road of recovery. Any little bit helps, and would be one less thing for the family to have to worry about while they are adjusting to these new arrangements. The family is working to appeal the insurance companies decision, but is not guaranteed with insurance that Jo Ann will receive the care and therapy she needs to return to as normal of a life as possible.

Visitors are always welcome to visit Jo Ann. If you are interested in visiting, please contact Bill ([email redacted]).

These three months have been long and it seems like it was just yesterday that she fell. Please don't ever take for granted your relationships, your health or your abilities and opportunities that you're given each day. Please continue to pray for her recovery. We've still got a very long road ahead.