Please help if you can.

My name is Art, and I've began this fundraiser for my family as we have found ourselves in dire need of help.

On June 15, my husband Andrew was at work when he was suddenly struck with excruciating abdominal pain. Treatment in the ER revealed he had a severe case of pancreatitis. 75% of his pancreas was found to be severely inflamed. Complications soon arose, as it was soon found that surface tissue on his pancreas has necrotized. This in turn caused a massive infection, which made treatment far more difficult. He was listed in critical condition for 19 days as his condition worsened.

He was able to come home finally on July 8, but his recovery is far from over. He is still fighting the massive infection and continues to need strong IV antibiotics. He had endured two invasive procedures to try and remove as much of the dead tissue as possible and he is still experiencing abdominal pain. Pancreatitis under normal conditions can take weeks or months to recover, but he is looking at a six to twelve month recovery period at minimum.

Until he recovers enough to be able to return to work we find ourselves in dire financial need. Without his paycheck, our income has been reduced to 50% of what we normally earn. We've applied for assistance to our creditors for relief, but that could take weeks. Until then, we still have mortgage and car payments, household expenses, medical expenses and three dogs to take care of. While Andrew receives pensions from his 23 years military service, these are not nearly enough to cover what we need without his job supplementing our income.

Setting up this fundraiser has been a difficult decision, as we are both severely independent people, who loathe asking for any help. We are usually the ones who run to help whenever we're needed, but this time the tables have turned.

We are grateful for any help anyone can give, whether it be monetarily or even just sharing this fundraiser with others.

Sincerely,

Art, Andrew, Anakin, Harley and Lando.