Medical Support for the Patrick Family

V. Kuroji Patrick, 51, is a talented visual artist and puppeteer in Silver Spring, MD. He’s a husband, a father of five, and a grandfather to one. There isn’t an art form he hasn’t tried or an audience that hasn’t spontaneously formed as he is puppeteering or making music and filming stop motion. Please check out some of his work here ! He loves superheroes and has a deep knowledge of superhero backstories, relationships, foes, costumes, and powers of. Once, when talking about superpowers, Amri said to Kuroji, “You know, your superpower is that you draw people to you and can make friends with anyone.”

In July of 2020, Kuroji was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. After months of chemotherapy, he underwent a stem cell transplant in March of 2021.

Multiple myeloma is known to be an aggressive cancer, and by October of 2023, it had progressed throughout Kuroji's spine. This led to multiple back surgeries and radiation treatments in hopes of preventing paralysis and keeping the cancer under control. Unfortunately, the cancer had already done too much damage, and he lost use of his legs and became wheelchair-bound. In addition to receiving chemo weekly for the rest of his life, Kuroji is learning how to manage life as a paraplegic.

Already in 2024, Kuroji has endured weeks-long hospitalizations and stays in rehab. Thankfully, Kuroji's medical insurance covers a lot, including hospitalizations, rehab, and chemo.

He is scheduled to be released from rehab at Sibley on May 10. We would love for him to be home with his family for as long as possible, but the expense of hiring a home health aide is entirely out of pocket and more than his family can manage.

Between the expense of at-home care and the cost of all of the equipment and accessibility changes they have had to make in their lives, the Patrick family needs our help. We created this GoFundMe campaign to raise $10,000 for Kuroji’s family to pay for home health care aids. This amount will cover about three months of care.

Thank you for any contribution you can make! This will help Kuroji live the best life he can as he deals with the myeloma. While we don’t know how much time any of us has left, we hope this gift to the Patricks can help buy Kuroji and his family more time together.

Amri Brown and Anne Kennedy