Jim Held’s MSA Fight
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About Jim
Jim Held is a kind, caring, and hardworking friend, husband, father, and grandfather. Until relatively recently, he was outgoing, energetic, and most importantly, active and healthy. He was equally quick to offer a joke, help building a deck, or a home-brewed beer; and if you expressed interest in going fishing, be prepared to spend some serious time on one of Wisconsin's beautiful lakes. Unfortunately, circumstances change, and this good-natured soul finds himself in need of some help.
His Diagnosis
In September, Jim was hospitalized for 11 days for dangerously low blood pressure. It was not the first time. Over the past several years, he has battled mystery illness after mystery illness. At first, his symptoms were explained away as part of the aging process; however, the symptoms continued to progress and worsen. Doctors diagnosed Jim with several illnesses including some as severe as Lyme Disease and Parkinson's. Each diagnosis seemed to fit at the moment, but the treatments only provided temporary, partial relief. When Jim went into the hospital this past September, a doctor finally assembled disparate symptoms into one final diagnosis. Jim has MSA.
About MSA
MSA stands for Multiple System Atrophy. The Mayo Clinic's website describes MSA as "a rare, degenerative neurological disorder affecting your body's involuntary (autonomic) functions, including blood pressure, breathing, bladder function and muscle control." There is no cure for MSA. Changes to lifestyle and medication can help mitigate the symptoms, but ultimately it is a terminal disease.
Jim Today
A little over a year ago Jim and Marlene were finally able to fulfill their dream of living on a lake. Marlene, his wife of 42 years, has promised to do everything she can to care for him in his dream home, but this has meant a great deal of change. Jim has gone from an early riser who always had a full day to someone in need of near constant assistance. He is losing his ability to walk and move around independently. Marlene now cares for him full time.
What Jim Needs
To keep Jim at home, Marlene needs to be able to take him to and from the doctor's office. She is also doing her very best to keep Jim active. He hates being stuck at home and cannot be left alone for long periods of time anyway. Neither of them want his last years to feel like a jail sentence. Jim and Marlene are asking for help raising funds for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. They live in rural Wisconsin, so mobility is an essential lifeline.
Please consider helping a kind man who would not think twice about helping someone else in need. Consider helping Marlene who spends her days devoted to caring for the man she loves more than anything in the world.
Thank you,
April
Jim's daughter
Jim Held is a kind, caring, and hardworking friend, husband, father, and grandfather. Until relatively recently, he was outgoing, energetic, and most importantly, active and healthy. He was equally quick to offer a joke, help building a deck, or a home-brewed beer; and if you expressed interest in going fishing, be prepared to spend some serious time on one of Wisconsin's beautiful lakes. Unfortunately, circumstances change, and this good-natured soul finds himself in need of some help.
His Diagnosis
In September, Jim was hospitalized for 11 days for dangerously low blood pressure. It was not the first time. Over the past several years, he has battled mystery illness after mystery illness. At first, his symptoms were explained away as part of the aging process; however, the symptoms continued to progress and worsen. Doctors diagnosed Jim with several illnesses including some as severe as Lyme Disease and Parkinson's. Each diagnosis seemed to fit at the moment, but the treatments only provided temporary, partial relief. When Jim went into the hospital this past September, a doctor finally assembled disparate symptoms into one final diagnosis. Jim has MSA.
About MSA
MSA stands for Multiple System Atrophy. The Mayo Clinic's website describes MSA as "a rare, degenerative neurological disorder affecting your body's involuntary (autonomic) functions, including blood pressure, breathing, bladder function and muscle control." There is no cure for MSA. Changes to lifestyle and medication can help mitigate the symptoms, but ultimately it is a terminal disease.
Jim Today
A little over a year ago Jim and Marlene were finally able to fulfill their dream of living on a lake. Marlene, his wife of 42 years, has promised to do everything she can to care for him in his dream home, but this has meant a great deal of change. Jim has gone from an early riser who always had a full day to someone in need of near constant assistance. He is losing his ability to walk and move around independently. Marlene now cares for him full time.
What Jim Needs
To keep Jim at home, Marlene needs to be able to take him to and from the doctor's office. She is also doing her very best to keep Jim active. He hates being stuck at home and cannot be left alone for long periods of time anyway. Neither of them want his last years to feel like a jail sentence. Jim and Marlene are asking for help raising funds for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. They live in rural Wisconsin, so mobility is an essential lifeline.
Please consider helping a kind man who would not think twice about helping someone else in need. Consider helping Marlene who spends her days devoted to caring for the man she loves more than anything in the world.
Thank you,
April
Jim's daughter
Organizer
Marlene Held
Organizer
Enterprise, WI
