Items, Time, Company, And Support for Anthony

Anthony Paino

UPDATE:
With the help of you all Ant has survived a year since we first posted these requests for help. Ant is still waiting on Social Security Disability with NO financial help from the government. The disease that he has continues to be a constant burden with swings of wellness and illness. The insecurity of not knowing if the heat or water might get turned off adds to the anxiety.

What I have done: my mom was gracious enough to hold the mortgage of the house that Ant is living in at the smallest of interests rate. That cut the mortgage down by over half. I pay that, the insurance on the house and the taxes. For a while my partner Nick was (who often helps me make my bills) also payed for an 'intern' to help organize and get Ant to appointments. This helper has found a full time job. Ant has applied to an organization for 'case management' which should help with these things. I'm not saying these things in hopes of praise or back patting but in the hopes you will understand that even a small amount of time or money could help us out tremendously.
I'd like to thank all those who have given online. I'd especially like to thank the following:
Sarah H.- Time, companionship, and meals
Kathy F. - Food deliveries
Maureen H. - phone calls, donations,
Maureen H.'s parents - Dog sitting, companionship
Dusti M. - Moral support for caretaker, donations
Hillary C. - phone calls, companionship, moral support, donations
Suzanne L. - Moral support, financial support
Michele E. - Moral support, phone calls
Trudy W. - queen of lefties
Nick T. - caretaker support, errand runner, moral support, giver of moneys.
Everyone who helped in the franticness of last year.
And everyone who has donated.
I hope I haven't left anyone out. I don't always see everyone that helps.

The Lawyer is now saying that they think the hearing will be in January. But it's an estimation.

In 2011, Anthony began to show symptoms of what doctors now think may be CIPD (https://www.gbs-cidp.org/cidp/), although we didn’t know that, then. Tremors, anxiety, weight loss and trips to a neurologist did not result in answers or a diagnosis. He lost the job that he loved as the Public Programs Manager- Teacher/Naturalist at the Academy of Natural Science (a true vocational job, if not lucrative) and the disease continued to progress, causing visible tremors, further weight loss, decreasing mobility, the clarity of his voice and other symptoms. Anthony’s embarrassment about his condition and the toll it took on his ability to work and earn a living cost him his confidence, motivation, and the company of friends who otherwise might have helped.

Anthony needs your help now to face a particularly difficult time in both his health and finances. And we, Anthony’s care taking community, need to create a broader network of support for him, both for his sake and ours.

The current turn in Anthony’s health began on October 14 when, after not hearing from Anthony when expected, my partner and I went to check on him. We found him collapsed on the ground, where he had been for two days. We called 911 and rushed to the ER. In the past two weeks, he’s gone from barely being able to move to almost walking again and though he's doing better each day, he is very weak. He’s almost to the point where he can feed himself but his dexterity and coordination are off. He's currently in rehabilitation with an estimated discharge date of November, 13th 2015.

The Doctor believes that Ant has CIDP and we are waiting for an official diagnosis from a muscle biopsy. Including the biopsy, Ant underwent a spinal tap, EMG, Ultrasound, MRI, CT Scan, and other tests. We do not know at this point how much of the bill for these tests, Ant’s hospital stay or time in rehab will be covered by Medicaid.

Anthony was able to manage financially on severance and unemployment, budgeting those out to cover the bare minimum at $500 per month, until they ran out. Since then, we helped Ant get SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid. In May 2015, we got through the initial rejection process for Social Security Disability and heard that the hearing would be in anytime from 4 to 14 months.

Anthony may not be my husband anymore, but he is still family to me. My mom, my sister and even my partner have ‘adopted’ Anthony and become a part of his support network. Others we are grateful for have paid credit card bills, visited him, replaced the hot water heater, sent care packages, walked the dog and given encouragement.

Please help us support this man that we love from whom disease has taken so much. Thank you for reading Ant’s story and please read on for ways to help!

Sincerely,

Jeanine

Ways to help:
Donate through this site (Anthony still needs about $500 per month to cover bare minimum bills.)
Donate things Anthony needs like toilet paper, cat litter, dog food, cat food, paper towels, deodorant, soap, shampoo, shaving cream, razors, etc.
Shoes, winter clothes, etc. (Looking neat and clean is important to Ant, which has been difficult in the hospital)
Cook with Ant or bring frozen meals / leftovers
Visit (Just think, even seldom visits from many people would average out to alleviate so much of Ant’s experience as a near shut-in)
Housework / handy work

Elwood Memorial

Elwood recently was assisted in his transition to heaven. He was fifteen years old and was having seizures. A couple of weeks before hand we had taken him to the Emergency Vet because he had vertigo. The day before he died we took him to his regular family vet because he had his first seizure. He was doing much better and the vet was hopeful he'd recover. I found it necessary to call "Lap of Love" to come to the house to help us. I wasn't able to take both Elwood and Anthony to the vet. It was a much more peaceful passing for Woody then if I had gotten Elwood to the vet. I am happy to have done this and would do it again. We will be receiving Woody's ashes and taking them to a favorite spot of his. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, the bill is large for both the trips to the vet and the last home visit.

Type of gift

Gift Card/Funds

Requested

$ 100

Given

$ 100