We had posted previously about Mountain Heart fiddler and Nashville producer/session player Jim VanCleve, and his recent battle with dengue hemorrhagic fever. Friends and colleagues in Music City have set up a fund to assist Jim and his family with medical bills and living expenses.
Jim contracted the disease from mosquito bites while working in St. Croix last month, and developed symptoms upon returning to the US. Doctors were able to quickly diagnose the dengue fever, as Jim has heard it discussed on the island that others staying in his hotel has developed it, but they did not realize that it was the more serious and deadly dengue hemorrhagic fever for several weeks.
There is no recognized cure for this viral disease, so his medical team is only able to treat the symptoms (fever, muscle aches, vomiting, malaise, exhaustion), and keep his fluid and enzyme levels maintained so that his body can gradually fight off the fever. It can also attack the liver, which it has in his case, which can lead to severe complications.
At this point, Jim has not been able to work going on six weeks, and medical bills are piling up for his wife, Desneige, and three children: Ryann (6), Graham (4) and Hudson (1). Still a young man at 34, a full recovery is expected. But it will take many more weeks, though Jim is hoping to return to the stage this weekend.
But he is very thankful for the assistance they have received to date.
“I want to say the biggest THANK YOU the world has ever seen to all of you incredible folks who have offered your prayers, thoughts, time, resources, and much much more in my family’s recent struggles. We are absolutely overwhelmed.
It was a close call, but I can say that we have been blessed beyond comprehension and are grateful beyond all measure. I am getting a little stronger every day, and hope to be able to work again very soon. Until then, we would of course appreciate your continued prayers for our family.”
Fans and friends in a position to help the VanCleve family through this rough patch can send a check to:
VanCleve Medical Fund
P.O. Box 613
Hendersonville, TN 37077
A PayPal account has also been established for people who would prefer to send a donation online, or using a credit card. If you are a PayPal member, you can simply send funds directly to vanclevemedicalfund@gmail.com. If not, you can use this form to send funds to the email address above.
Through the assistance of Ron Cox (Senior Vice President of Avenue Bank and an IBMA Board member), folks in Nashville can also make a donation in person at any Avenue Bank location. Just be sure to make it in the name of the VanCleve Medical Fund.
These are wonderful people who deserve whatever support we can muster as a bluegrass community. Please help if you can.
