Dad and his MS/Please help

Hello Friends,

I’d like to ask for a little holiday help for my father Joe Bichler. As some of you know before my mom passed, dad was diagnosed with MS. He had help from a not for profit in Florida to pay for his medicine as there is no cure and no generic medicines at this time. When mom passed, she only left him with a small death benefit and no insurance and the cost to keep hers was prohibitive. While dad now has a supplemental insurance, it only covers a little more than his medicare and covers very little if any drug coverage. Dad’s Copaxone costs about 65 thousand per year which keeps him fairly healthy and heads off some of the effects of his MS, however his non profit may not be able to keep him and cover his costs due to todays economy. Dad also needs other procedures like MRI’s twice a year along with epidurals and steroid infusions. The costs of these procedures range from hundreds to thousands and have to be done just to keep the MS in check. If you know anyone with MS, then you know why I’m asking for your help. Just like insurance premiums rising non profits can’t help everyone and while there are some generic drugs being tested they will not be available until 2018 at the earliest which leaves us in a bind until then.

Today, with dad’s permission I am opening a Go Fund Me page and a Go Get Funding page, however dad has asked me rather than solicit donations that he be able to offer something in return for donations to the page. Dad has two original paintings from Hawaii that have been framed. The artists are Raphael from Maui and Davis from the Big Island. The Raphael painting measures 24x36 inches and the Davis painting measures 20x 24 inches. I know dad paid pretty good money for these but really wanted a Wyland painting which was cost prohibitive which is why he bought these. Dad is asking that if you make a donation, similar to a raffle, you be given a chance to own one of his beloved paintings. You’ll get one chance for every five dollars donated to help with his medical expenses. I know he hates to part with these but knows that his life is more important than the paintings any day.

I know times are tough and not everyone can help so I’m asking that you share this with everyone you can, on Facebook, by word of mouth, any way you can. As the trustee of this fund, I will also add that any funds not used will be given to the National MS Society (nationalmssociety.org) and The Assistance Fund Inc (AssistFund.org) who has helped dad immensely with the costs that he has incurred.

Thanks for all the help you can give whether by donating or by sharing and hopefully we can find a cure for this awful disease known as Multiple Sclerosis.

Sincerely,

Jessica Haag