Coues D Report post Posted June 14, 2011 I have had viral meningitis before, spent 10 days at Barrow neurological institute, it's a VERY serious illness.. I will donate, Best wishes and get well soon. Brandon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted June 14, 2011 So far we have raised $1300!! Way to go everyone! I think that's awesome. Thank you for your generosity. It's not too late to still donate, so if you want to help, feel free. Any donation, large or small is welcome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted June 14, 2011 Josh Eppersons wife has viral meningitis and has been bed. Ridden for three weeks. Josh says they were just talking one day and she thought her neck or back was going out. She laid down and has been in bed for weekks now. It is really bad, and she was just admitted into the hospital. I don't think Josh has medical insurance and so the trips to the ER and now the hospital will really hurt them financially. Please pray for Jennifer and Josh and the kids as they go through this. Is it possible to organize a fund-raiser/auction? I could give an item for a full donation. I don't have time to organize a fundraiser auction, but if someone else wants to spearhead it, that would be great. Or we could just auction off some items here through the site and give the proceeds to Josh? that would require a lot less organizing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRONG Report post Posted June 20, 2011 First of all I'd like to say I'm extremely humbled by the attention you all have given to Jen and I, simply stunning.... I think I'd got on to see what Amanda had written about a day after she started this topic. I had only gone thru the first page of comments and I just couldn't stop the tears. I can't even begin to thank all of you enough for your generosity and prayers. Your comments and thoughtfulness affected me deeply and I took none of it lightly! My phone rang constantly from people offering their help in any way possible. It was an extremely stressful month as any of you can attest to when a loved one is very very sick. Trying to run my business and juggle my two young kids was absolutely brutal. My Mother and several of our friends chipped in to watch the kids here and there but shuttling them around and having a stupid crazy schedule with my business was just near insanity. That topped with having to leave my poor sick wife laying in bed everyday and to come home and see her in the same state was a whole level of stress all in it's own. This all started when Jen and I were talking mid afternoon when she said, "I think my neck and back are going out." Within an hour she was laying in bed feeling awful. She had intense head and neck pain and I took her to the Urgent Care the following afternoon in Cottonwood. Instead of trying to corral my kids in a waiting room for a couple hours, I left and told the receptionist that if she needed anything please please call me and I gave her Jen's cell phone. 3 hours went by as we were just killin time waiting for the phone call to come get her. At 8:20 I showed up at the place and it's closed!!!! What in the heck is going on and where is my wife were just a couple of things going thru my mind. I drove across the street to hospital and went quickly into the ER where the lady there told me she got there a while ago by ambulance! WHAT?!?!?!? I asked what was wrong and they said they were doing a CT scan and to go home and come back in the morning. I said I don't think so, I know just what a few hours in the ER can cost let alone all night! So about an hour later they let her out and said she just had a headache. As they're wheeling her out she's throwing up from the intense pressure in her skull saying, "I know there's something wrong with me you can't send me home!" The head nurse just said, "Nope, you've been released." So we got a bill from the ambulance company for $1100 for driving her literally ACROSS THE STREET!!!! Never even got a courtesy call to let me know what they were doing and if I'd prefer giving her a ride myself or not. Then the ER charged us $3300 to tell us she had a headache..... She continued to dry heave for 5 SOLID DAYS, not just a few times a day, I'm talkin at least once every 5-10 minutes!! This was on a Monday. The next Monday after laying in bed the whole time for the whole week she said take me to FMC in Flagstaff. After checking in to the ER there they went thru all her symptoms and finally did an MRI on her and also a spinal tap, that is when they found out it was viral meningitis. They can't cure it, they can only give you pain meds for the brutal headaches and neck pain. Those meds made her super sick and she spent another week laying in bed. Now when she's laying in bed she couldn't sit up for more than a few seconds because of the pain in her head and neck. So going into the 3rd week of this, on a Sunday she says, "You gotta take me back to Flagstaff now, I'm not getting an inch closer to becoming better!" So I called the Dr and he said absolutely bring her back. So she stayed in the hospital for a full week, another MRI later and another spinal tap and many many other tests to rule all other possibilities out, they finally put her on some steroid medication and now I can happily tell you that as of this past Wednesday afternoon she pulled out of it and is 100% fine!!! Other than being physically weak still she's doing great! So again, thanks for all the prayers and support everyone!!! When we told people about our experience with VVMC in Cottonwood not one person we talked to had anything nice to say about that place!!!! The care was extremely frigid and they didn't seem to care less if she would've dropped dead on the floor. I can tell you I'm not giving them a dime of my money (or yours) to pay for what they did. Viral Meningitis is not life threatening, its just a very horrible sickness, which COUES D can attest to, but had she had Bacterial Meningitis she would probably be dead her Dr in Flagstaff told us. The "headache" diagnosis given by the lame brains at VVMC could've cost Jen her life if that was the case! She was begging them to stay and they refused and just shuttled her into the waiting room where she continued to throw up from the pain. The doctors and nurses at FMC were ALL very nice and professional and I don't have one complaint about that place other than VVMC is their sister hospital. Sorry I couldn't respond any earlier, like Amanda said, I couldn't remember my password and honestly didn't have any time to even respond and I apologize. You all have been wonderful and it will not be forgotten. Jen and I have talked about it and if we are miraculously accepted by AHCCCS Health Insurance then we would like to donate all of your monies to a worthy cause but I'll keep you posted on that outcome. We played the no insurance game and it bit us in the rear HARD but we can't afford the $500+ dollars a month for insurance like most families. So whatever the cost damage ends up being they can have $100 a month for 30 years for all I care. It's just great having my wonderful wife back, the kids think so too..... A very heartfelt and sincere thank you to everyone, Josh and Jennifer Epperson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted June 20, 2011 Josh, Nice to see you on again and thanks for giving us an update on your wife Jennifer's condition. I can only imagine the nightmare this has been for all of you involved. You all were a topic of conversation amongst many of us while on the phone or emailing back and forth. Prayers do work wonders and I'm happy to hear the good news. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buddydog Report post Posted June 20, 2011 Just sent my donation. Hope all goes well. Your family is in our prayers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Here is a new way to help raise money for Josh and Jen. Jimmy and Rynda Hoffman, owners of Flatline Maps (a sponsor of CouesWhitetail.com) have graciously donated many of their hunt unit maps to be sold in order to raise money for the Eppersons. In order to facilitate quick sales, the price is set at 1/2 the regular retail price. So you can now buy the maps for $19 plus tax and shipping. These are very high quality maps that combine the info found on a USFS map (roads, tanks, etc) with a hunt unit boundary map and a topographic map. They are made to last and will be great to keep in your vehicle so it's ready for use at all times. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bookstore/maps.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
makaio333 Report post Posted July 6, 2011 Our prayers are with the Epperson family. Glad to hear things are doing better. Amanda sent you a donation. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
