Russ Ford Returns Home, Fundraising Continues
[Written by Stephen Wright]
More than $9,000 has been raised to help Russ Ford, a former nurse who helped increase HIV/Aids awareness in Bermuda in the 1980s, through bucket collections throughout the island.
Mr Ford, the founder of Agape House, recently returned to the island after receiving care at a specialist hospital unit in Arizona after being paralysed from the chest down following a fall at his home in February.
Though Mr Ford has medical insurance, his family and friends hope to raise $200,000 via a GoFundMe page to help cover his medical expenses and purchase necessary equipment, such as a motorised wheelchair and a bed for those with spinal injuries.
A total of $72,397 has been raised through a GoFundMe page for Mr Fund as of Monday [June 19].
JoAnne Dean-Armstrong, a friend and fellow former Nurse of the Year, organised the donation collection through the Russ Ford Foundation and said buckets were at Esso service stations, the Devonshire branch of Lindo’s and the Speciality Inn restaurant in Smith’s for two weeks.
“Russ is going to have a lot of expenses, and it’s going to be ongoing,” Ms Dean Armstrong told Bernews. “We’re happy to do this for Russ. Remember, he was the one who came up with the idea of hospice care for aids patients.”
Donations can be made via HSBC account number 010 246971 011 or at www.gofundme.com/f/medical-assistance-for-russ-a-ford.
