Thread by @docrocktex26

From time to time I receive tweets from people asking how they can repay me the favor of my time and 🔥, and I never really have a good answer for them.
But tonight is different...

Though I’ve “met” thousands of you here on Twitter over the years, I’ve only met 2 Twitter friends in person. I’d like to tell you about one of them tonight. His handle is @nffc65 but #onhere I simply call him my brother.

I can’t even remember exactly when we followed each other, but we ultimately found ourselves in an endlessly entertaining Twitter clique. Eventually I learned that he was battling a rare form of leukemia (CLL), only made more rare by the fact that he developed it so young.

He was what we affectionately called a “zebra” in medical school, a case so rare that you basically never see it. I told him the same. One day he DM’d like “so what’s up with @MDAndersonNews (internationally acclaimed cancer center in Houston), is it really as good as they say?!”

In typical PJ fashion I didn’t hesitate to rep my city or the Texas Medical Center, and I literally implored him to come to Houston and see what they could do for him. He took my advice. He found not only gold star doctors and nurses, but all the BBQ he could eat. He found RL me.

For the last few years, he’s made so many trips back and forth to Houston for treatment that I can’t even keep track. We try to break bread and catch up when he’s here, and I’m always humbled by how jolly he is despite his circumstances and how exhausted his body is.

If there’s anyone who can tell you how devastatingly fucked up the American healthcare system is, it’s @nffc65. Full stop.

Though the treatments he’s receiving are state of the art, they come at an astronomical cost. A cost NONE of us is mentally, emotionally, or financially equipped to handle on our own. He’s depleted his entire life savings and staring down the barrel of destitution as I tweet.

Not only is he facing the prospect of going without treatment, he’s lost the ability to provide for not only his ailing body but also his 10 year old son. In other words, he actually meets criteria for economic anxiety. He needs OUR help.

I know it’s a lot to ask to open your wallet to a stranger, but I opened my heart to him and not only gained a “follower” but a real friend. If you have anything to spare, every little bit helps and matters. youcaring.com/robertgillespi…
PayPal: [e-mail]

As Americans, we shouldn’t have to do this type of thing for one another, but by the same token we do it because we know no one else will. Your consideration and contributions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, y’all. 😘

Update: @nffc65 shattered his initial fundraising goal and is blazing a trail towards another!! 🔥 On his behalf, I just wanna say my TL is full of the BEST people humanity has to offer and I’m so thankful for and proud of y’all. Behold the blessing of fellowship and solidarity.