Jimmy Spelts

My stepfather, Jimmy Spelts is a 45-year-old man who is very sick. Quite suddenly, he was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) and Cirrhosis. He is desperately waiting for a life-saving liver transplant.

Most patients have the PSC diagnosis for years- even decades before contracting Cirrhosis and needing a new liver. Jimmy received his diagnosis just this March. At the time of his diagnosis, his doctors at Duke University Hospital in North Carolina have told him if he doesn’t get a transplant right away, he only has a thirty percent chance of living past his first three months-the odds only go down from there.

Jimmy grew up in Colorado, served in the Navy and then settled in Hampton Roads, Virginia to be near his kids. He is the loving husband of my mother, Darlene, a father, step-father, grandfather, and good friend to many. We all love him very much and will do everything we can to help him thru the transplant. He has worked at Sentara Virginia Beach as a nurse, and later as a nurse manager for 15 years. At the time of his diagnosis, he was a nursing professor at two local colleges. Jimmy has spent most of his life taking care of others and now it is he who needs our help.

As you can imagine, the costs of a transplant are very high. Jimmy can no longer work and Mom takes cares of him full time as he needs around the clock care. Even with insurance there are many expenses that must be paid out of pocket. Some of these expenses are co-pays, deductibles, lab-fees, travel to and from the transplant center, relocation at the time of transplant for at least a month and Jimmy will be on a life-time of anti-rejection medications. In addition, his health insurance must be maintained via COBRA, which cost $1200 monthly. This puts our family up against a challenge we cannot meet alone and need your help.

A fundraising campaign in his honor has been established with Help Hope Live, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law, are held by Help Hope Live in the South-Atlantic Liver Transplant Fund, and are administered by Help Hope Live for transplant-related expenses only. To make a donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Donate Now button.

On behalf of Jimmy, Mom and our families, thank you so much for your generosity, support, prayers and kind thoughts during this time. Keep an eye on Jimmy’s campaign page at www.helphopelive.org to see updates regularly.

Gratefully,

Virginia Juarez, Jimmy’s step daughter
[email protected]