Jim and Karla are so very blessed to have the most caring and supportive family and friends in the entire world. They appreciate the prayers, support, and love they have received from each and every person. I (their daughter Amy) will be using Caringbridge to help my Mom keep everyone up to date a little easier, on what is going on with my Dad's recovery. This has been an extremely hard year, not only physically, but emotionally as well. Below are the hurdles that Dad has already overcome, and the ones that he is still facing. Again, thank you, every single one of you, for everything that you have done and continue to do. The outpouring of love and support has been wonderfully overwhelming. Most of you know that Jim had a stroke at the beginning of May. He had emergency surgery to clear one of his carotid arteries, and is going to need a 2nd surgery scheduled to clear the other side once he is strong enough for the surgery. Lots of blood, sweat, tears, fights, physical therapy, meds, etc later, and he was just finally starting to move better and feel a bit better, and was going to schedule an appointment to see when he could have the 2nd surgery. Then, this past Friday (09/18/20) he was sitting in a chair in the driveway grinding on a piece of steel and somehow, his shirt caught on fire. He had a button shirt on over a t-shirt, and with his right side still not 100% from his stroke, it was difficult for him to get his shirt off. He has mostly 3rd degree burns over his entire upper body, there is no skin left. He is at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, in the Trauma/Burn Unit. He is struggling with acute kidney failure, and elevated potassium (heart muscle) issues that they are thinking is a result of the trauma to his body. He is on a feeding tube and being kept at different levels of sedation depending on his pain level. He has many surgeries ahead of him for skin grafts, and each one is very risky due to his age, (he is 75 years young!), recovering from a stroke, being diabetic, high blood pressure, and on blood thinners from his stroke. He will most likely be at Bronson for 6+ weeks, and then he will transfer to a rehabilitation center, until the skin grafts are fully healed, the risk of infection is gone, and he is strong enough to come home. Please, keep the prayers going, the good thoughts rolling, and if you feel led to help, my sister (their daughter Kelly) has set up a GoFundMe account to help with insurance deductibles, copays, and other expenses. Also, a very good friend of the family has organized a fundraiser selling Pumpkin Rolls, that are amazing!!! If you would like to order one, please message Kenda Cartagena on Facebook, or you can contact me as well and I will get you in contact with her. Kenda is also accepting cash donations (she also has Venmo) and gift cards for gas travel to and from the hospital, and eventually rehab. Our appreciation can never be expressed in words, and "thank you" does not begin to explain how blessed we feel by every person who is with us in this journey. 💗 Here is the link to their GoFundMe campaign.
https://gf.me/u/y2cmnd 
