SoonerFactor, a couple of other posters and myself, have been discussing how to properly handle this for the past couple of weeks.
Over the past couple of years, I have gotten to know GrundyVolBob, as he is known on here. Originally, I saw some of his posts on VolQuest that caught my attention. The guy has been through a whole hell of a lot over the past several years.
He was upper management at a solid company, and was just a couple of years away from full retirement benefits from said company when he severely injured his back in a non work-related incident. Without going into all the specific details, he has basically been confined to his bed for the last couple of years, after many failed treatments.
His wife left him shortly after his injury, and now lives in their old house (which he pays a $1,000 mortgage on). When I had dinner with him the other night, he mentioned the principle on the mortgage was about $12,000 (I kinda surreptitiously acquired this information) and he can't wait until January 2016 to have it paid off. He himself rents a very small house, that has become decrepit because he is not physically or financially able to keep it up, as he lives on disability now and bedridden. It is very difficult for him to do any kind of physical activity like take a shower; the types of things we take for granted. He keeps in touch with his kids, but one lives pretty far away and has her own life, and his son doesn't seem to be the type to care as much as he probably should.
This is a man now in his early 50s who feels like he has nothing to live for. He and I got to know each other through email a couple of years ago before I met him (he lives about 45 minutes away), and he would just go on and on about how psychologically difficult it was to keep the will to live. Finances were a big part of the equation, as he wasn't sure how he would pay his gas bill over the winter. I gave him as much support as I could, as I am no professional. I did recommend for him to see a professional.
His vision had been getting progressively worse, but on the bright side, it looks like he was able to have some type of surgery (not LASIK) recently to make it much better. So, it's not all bad. Positive news is good! At dinner the other night, he seemed as good as I have seen him, mentally and physically.
As far as what VolQuest did last Christmas time, another poster I am friends with, PredVol, and myself decided we were going to do something for him. We put together a somewhat cryptic post along the lines of, "If you're interested in helping out a fellow VFL (Vol For Life), GITT". We followed that up with a brief, again cryptic, summary so he wouldn't know exactly what was going on. We posted our emails, and put together a short email template to all who inquired with us about it. The response, to say the least, was overwhelming. I think once it was over, we raised over $2,200 with about 60 people donating, and many, many others offering thoughts/prayers. One poster emailed me about paying his gas bill up through the winter, and not only did he pay his $300 balance, he put another $700 credit to his account for the rest of the winter. This is in addition to the $2,200 we raised originally.
He had no idea, and started bawling when I gave him the check. He honestly thought he hardly had anyone in the world who cared about him, and I really think it restored his faith in humanity. He admitted he has had to swallow his pride, and is aware of what I am doing this time here, especially since he reads the board. This guy is one of the most genuinely nice human beings I have ever met, who simply has no (good) luck. I really hope the MB can come through like they have so many times before, and we can blow away what VolQuest did last year.
Our goal this year is $10,000. If VolQuest alone was able to do $2,200 in a couple of weeks last year, I know the MB and Volquest together can come through and reach, or hopefully, surpass this goal.
We set up a gofundme account. Here is the LINK
Also, here is the link for the MB thread if anyone cares to read: MB thread
This post was edited on 10/6 7:04 PM by DukeSilverVol
Over the past couple of years, I have gotten to know GrundyVolBob, as he is known on here. Originally, I saw some of his posts on VolQuest that caught my attention. The guy has been through a whole hell of a lot over the past several years.
He was upper management at a solid company, and was just a couple of years away from full retirement benefits from said company when he severely injured his back in a non work-related incident. Without going into all the specific details, he has basically been confined to his bed for the last couple of years, after many failed treatments.
His wife left him shortly after his injury, and now lives in their old house (which he pays a $1,000 mortgage on). When I had dinner with him the other night, he mentioned the principle on the mortgage was about $12,000 (I kinda surreptitiously acquired this information) and he can't wait until January 2016 to have it paid off. He himself rents a very small house, that has become decrepit because he is not physically or financially able to keep it up, as he lives on disability now and bedridden. It is very difficult for him to do any kind of physical activity like take a shower; the types of things we take for granted. He keeps in touch with his kids, but one lives pretty far away and has her own life, and his son doesn't seem to be the type to care as much as he probably should.
This is a man now in his early 50s who feels like he has nothing to live for. He and I got to know each other through email a couple of years ago before I met him (he lives about 45 minutes away), and he would just go on and on about how psychologically difficult it was to keep the will to live. Finances were a big part of the equation, as he wasn't sure how he would pay his gas bill over the winter. I gave him as much support as I could, as I am no professional. I did recommend for him to see a professional.
His vision had been getting progressively worse, but on the bright side, it looks like he was able to have some type of surgery (not LASIK) recently to make it much better. So, it's not all bad. Positive news is good! At dinner the other night, he seemed as good as I have seen him, mentally and physically.
As far as what VolQuest did last Christmas time, another poster I am friends with, PredVol, and myself decided we were going to do something for him. We put together a somewhat cryptic post along the lines of, "If you're interested in helping out a fellow VFL (Vol For Life), GITT". We followed that up with a brief, again cryptic, summary so he wouldn't know exactly what was going on. We posted our emails, and put together a short email template to all who inquired with us about it. The response, to say the least, was overwhelming. I think once it was over, we raised over $2,200 with about 60 people donating, and many, many others offering thoughts/prayers. One poster emailed me about paying his gas bill up through the winter, and not only did he pay his $300 balance, he put another $700 credit to his account for the rest of the winter. This is in addition to the $2,200 we raised originally.
He had no idea, and started bawling when I gave him the check. He honestly thought he hardly had anyone in the world who cared about him, and I really think it restored his faith in humanity. He admitted he has had to swallow his pride, and is aware of what I am doing this time here, especially since he reads the board. This guy is one of the most genuinely nice human beings I have ever met, who simply has no (good) luck. I really hope the MB can come through like they have so many times before, and we can blow away what VolQuest did last year.
Our goal this year is $10,000. If VolQuest alone was able to do $2,200 in a couple of weeks last year, I know the MB and Volquest together can come through and reach, or hopefully, surpass this goal.
We set up a gofundme account. Here is the LINK
Also, here is the link for the MB thread if anyone cares to read: MB thread
This post was edited on 10/6 7:04 PM by DukeSilverVol
