Greetings from Aroxx

JwRosenthal
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
They raise 'em tough in Jersey. Keep your chin up. If you start feeling down grab a Tastykake and know we're all pulling for you.
The Butterscotch Krimpets are something special.
 
JimInOz
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Aroxx Aroxx
My right side and my speech (aphasia) are not great now but will get better in time.

Right side is throttle and brake side Alex, so you need to work extra hard on that.
Left side doesn't matter, you can always get an auto shifter, or even a scooter.
;)

May the improvements continue.
 
gbesq
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dsio dsio
Yea I definitely wouldn’t read it like that, especially here in Australia that’s the kind of joke mates would make in similar circumstances with someone they’re wishing the best for.
Ok, my apologies to @DaveK. I’m familiar with the details of what happened to Alex, it’s not pretty, and I overreacted to Dave’s post. Sorry.
 
gbesq
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JwRosenthal and I both know Alex through the Mid-Atlantic G2G. Alex is a great guy and we have organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help Alex recover and reestablish his independence. Please contribute if you are so inclined, feel free to forward the link to others, and thank you! Thanks also to dsio, OF’s other mods and the owners of OF for their support in allowing us to do this for Alex. I’m proud to be part of this community.
Here’s the GoFundMe link:
https://gofund.me/931c3991
Edited:
 
dsio
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gbesq gbesq
JwRosenthal and I both know Alex through the Mid-Atlantic G2G. Alex is a great guy and we have organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help Alex recover and establish his independence. Please contribute if you are so inclined, feel free to forward the link to others, and thank you! Thanks also to dsio, OF’s other mods and the owners of OF for their support in allowing us to do this for Alex. I’m proud to be part of this community.
Here’s the GoFundMe link:
https://gofund.me/931c3991
I’ve added this to the original post, we don’t typically allow these but we have made an exception in this case as Alex is a close member of the community and I’m sure some people will be willing to help.
 
MTROIS
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I am both absolutely shocked to learn about what you are going through Alex, but I am also relieved to see you on the road of recovery surrounded by your mom and all your loved ones!!! Hang in there Alex and keep fighting. We are all proud of you and can’t wait to see you again at the mid-Atlantic Get Together!!
I also look forward to us taking the cars out again for a nice ride on the back roads. I will make sure to come say hi when I swing by again by NJ.

We love you man!

PS: Thank you Martha for posting the update on his behalf. Grateful to you.
Edited:
 
DaveK
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gbesq gbesq
Ok, my apologies to @DaveK. I’m familiar with the details of what happened to Alex, it’s not pretty, and I overreacted to Dave’s post. Sorry.
I’ve reached out to some psychology profs I know, and they are quite interested in exploring this, the internet’s first debated comment 😁.

@gbesq I appreciate you were feeling your feels and looking out for a friend ❤️
 
gbesq
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DaveK DaveK
I’ve reached out to some psychology profs I know, and they are quite interested in exploring this, the internet’s first debated comment 😁.

@gbesq I appreciate you were feeling your feels and looking out for a friend ❤️
Lol, we’re good.
 
Dsloan
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gbesq gbesq
JwRosenthal and I both know Alex through the Mid-Atlantic G2G. Alex is a great guy and we have organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help Alex recover and reestablish his independence. Please contribute if you are so inclined, feel free to forward the link to others, and thank you! Thanks also to dsio, OF’s other mods and the owners of OF for their support in allowing us to do this for Alex. I’m proud to be part of this community.
Here’s the GoFundMe link:
https://gofund.me/931c3991

Thanks for setting this up! The benefit of hanging around with watch collectors is that it's hard for most of us to pretend like we don't have any disposable income to share. 😁

But seriously, the unvarnished write-up on the GoFundMe is sobering. How long before this thread becomes a critique of the American medical insurance system?

Wishing you the best Alex, as you focus on your healing.
 
JwRosenthal
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Dsloan Dsloan
Thanks for setting this up! The benefit of hanging around with watch collectors is that it's hard for most of us to pretend like we don't have any disposable income to share. 😁

But seriously, the unvarnished write-up on the GoFundMe is sobering. How long before this thread becomes a critique of the American medical insurance system?

Wishing you the best Alex, as you focus on your healing.
Buy a friend a couple beers, buy a friend lunch, skip buying a strap….not hard for most of us to come up with a couple bucks for a brother in need.
 
gbesq
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Thanks so much to those of you who have donated so far. Just a heads up for those of you who are unfamiliar with GoFundMe. When you contribute, and before you “check out,” GFM rather shamelessly adds a 15% “tip” for themselves. Given that GFM already takes a percentage of donations as the fee for the use of its platform, the “tip” is both unnecessary and - in my view - offensive. So feel free to adjust the “tip” to $0 when you donate. That’s what I do.
 
JwRosenthal
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gbesq gbesq
Thanks so much to those of you who have donated so far. Just a heads up for those of you who are unfamiliar with GoFundMe. When you contribute, and before you “check out,” GFM rather shamelessly adds a 15% “tip” for themselves. Given that GFM already takes a percentage of donations as the fee for the use of its platform, the “tip” is both unnecessary and - in my view - offensive. So feel free to adjust the “tip” to $0 when you donate. That’s what I do.
The tip shaming world we live in now. Go to pay for a coffee with my card and it comes up with a tip screen and the barista is staring at me….unless you brought it to my car and offered me free refills as I’m driving down the road….
 
dsio
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RevZMan123 RevZMan123
Glad to see your smiling face again.
The beard still looks strong too which is good to see
 
gbesq
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Dsloan Dsloan
Thanks for setting this up! The benefit of hanging around with watch collectors is that it's hard for most of us to pretend like we don't have any disposable income to share. 😁

But seriously, the unvarnished write-up on the GoFundMe is sobering. How long before this thread becomes a critique of the American medical insurance system?

Wishing you the best Alex, as you focus on your healing.
David,

Your observations on the American medical and insurance system are spot on. There are too many stories similar to Alex's where paying for care shouldn't even be a consideration and medical issues figure prominently in the statistics relating to consumer bankruptcy filings in the United States. One problem is that health insurance in the U.S. has been historically tied to employment - no job, no health insurance unless one qualifies for Medicare (65 or over or, in some cases, disabled), Medicaid (poor, and you have to be REALLY poor to qualify or, in some cases, disabled) or the ACA (Obamacare) which has a whole host of issues (very high premiums for many, Medicaid expansion not adopted by all of the states, etc.). Added to all of that is a bloated mess of bureaucracy with too many players and for profit insurers calling the shots. The U.S. spends significantly more on heathcare as a percentage of GDP than other first world nations and does not achieve health outcomes that are commensurate with the amount of money spent. There's an element in the U.S. that uses scare tactics to decry a European style national health insurance system as "socialized medicine" and too many U.S. citizens buy into that nonsense -- what do they think Medicare is? :confused: Ok, rant over, and I don't want to start a flame war on the U.S. medical system. These are just my observations and I don't have a monopoly on the truth or the best course of action. Again, thanks to those who contributed to the fund for Alex yesterday which was the first day online. If you haven't contributed and are interested in doing so, the link is at the top of this thread. Thanks.
Edited:
 
Dsloan
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gbesq gbesq
David,

Your observations on the American medical and insurance system are spot on. There are too many stories similar to Alex's where paying for care shouldn't even be a consideration and medical issues figure prominently in the statistics relating to consumer bankruptcy filings in the United States. One problem is that health insurance in the U.S. has been historically tied to employment - no job, no health insurance unless one qualifies for Medicare (65 or over or, in some cases, disabled), Medicaid (poor, and you have to be REALLY poor to qualify or, in some cases, disabled) or the ACA (Obamacare) which has a whole host of issues (very high premiums for many, Medicaid expansion not adopted by all of the states, etc.). Added to all of that is a bloated mess of bureaucracy with too many players and for profit insurers calling the shots. The U.S. spends significantly more on heathcare as a percentage of GDP than other first world nations and does not achieve health outcomes that are commensurate with the amount of money spent. There's an element in the U.S. that uses scare tactics to decry a European style national health insurance system as "socialized medicine" and too many U.S. citizens buy into that nonsense -- what do they think Medicare is? :confused: Ok, rant over, and I don't want to start a flame war on the U.S. medical system. These are just my observations and I don't have a monopoly on the truth or the best course of action. Again, thanks to those who contributed to the fund for Alex yesterday which was the first day online. If you haven't contributed and are interested in doing so, the link is at the top of this thread. Thanks.

I agree with all that. Tying care to employment creates so many challenges. And, while I don't know the specifics of Alex's situation, this seems like an example that may illustrate the long-term public cost of care vs no care. With more care: there's more chance of regaining health to work and be self-sufficient again. With restricted care: I suspect there's more more risk of long-term disability. And all that's just the money part of the equation, to say nothing of the human tragedy and the moral/ethical dimension of wanting to provide care for those in need.

But politics aside, I encourage everyone who is able and inclined to send some support for a forum friend in need.
Edited:
 
MTROIS
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To the top for a great OF member who could really use our help...
No donation is too small!!
 
gbesq
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MTROIS MTROIS
To the top for a great OF member who could really use our help...
No donation is too small!!
Thanks, Marc. I'll just add that so far we've only raised $1,150 from 8 donors. I think that we can do a lot better if we try. I can only say that if what happened to Alex happened to me, I'd sure appreciate all the help I could get. The GoFundMe link is at the top of the thread.
Edited:
 
gbesq
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We are at $1,400 in contributions as of this morning. I expect to touch base with Martha over the weekend and I'll post an update as to how Alex is doing after I speak with her. Again, for those who wish to contribute to help Alex, the GoFundMe link is at the top of the thread. Thank you.
 
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