Korchin Family

Hello, Korchin family and friends,

My name is Laura Geduldig, and I am helping to support the Korchins by sharing this GoFundMe, their Mealtrain, and Caring Bridge with you, their wonderful community.

Last week their younger son Elias, 16, was in a severe car accident and will need care at home for two-to-three months. His father, Jono, is battling multiple aggressive cancers with an uncertain prognosis and is on oxygen. His mother, Season, an independent consultant to non-profits, provides the family's income and needs financial and meal support to free up time to provide and facilitate care and pay for medical expenses not covered by insurance. Please choose the best ways for you to support the Korchins through this GoFundMe, their Mealtrain, and joining their Caring Bridge for updates. Thank you to everyone who has already contributed in various ways. They are all deeply appreciative.

Full Story - The Korchin family is facing a confluence of challenges and needs some support. They've allowed us to put this together because, despite their discomfort in asking for assistance, many people have asked how they can help, for which the Korchins are profoundly grateful.

Elias was in a serious car accident on April 30th. He was belted in the front passenger seat when his friend drove the car off a cliff in the Oakland hills. It flipped and slid upside down a very long embankment. Elias took the brunt of the impact. Miraculously, he survived and is expected to recover, but it will take time. He has several fractured vertebrae, a fractured and displaced sternum, lung contusions, a broken thumb, a severe concussion, and a few other issues still being monitored and assessed. He is confined to a neck brace 24/7 for 2-3 months, the time doctors estimate it will take to heal his physical injuries. While he is ambulatory and will hopefully become more functional over time, he needs assistance with many activities of daily living and is in constant immense pain.

At the same time, Jono, Elias' dad, is facing a multi-front cancer battle with a difficult and uncertain prognosis, in part due to compounding lung issues necessitating continuous oxygen and regular acupuncture and rehabilitation sessions. Neither of his cancers is currently under control, and he is on intense and often debilitating chemo and other treatments that leave him frequently in severe pain, unwell, and needing to rest.

What the Korchins need most right now is that most precious and elusive commodity - time. Season needs time to care for Elias and Jono (and herself), and they need time to receive care and to heal and recover where possible. The Korchins need time to be together and as unstressed as possible in the time they have.

There are two ways we can give them time. The first is financial. Since Jono has been too ill to work for many years, Season provides the family's primary income. An independent consultant for environmental, educational, and racial/social justice organizations, she bills hourly and has already had to forgo a significant amount of work to support Jono through his cancers, depleting their savings. Financial assistance will allow Season time to provide and facilitate the care both Elias and Jono need, and will help cover medical expenses not covered by insurance.

The second way of giving them time is to offer meals so they don't have to cook. We've created a Mealtrain, which you can access here.

The Korchins will appreciate any and all support but insist nobody should feel obligated. They are also open to other ideas about ways to help that might work better for some in their extended community. They are getting through this buoyed by community and welcome contact. They will be posting updates via Caring Bridge.