Update: I’ve taken down the donation box, and have transferred the money to Jordan via PayPal. You guys were incredibly generous, and we raised almost $600 for the surgery fund! I cannot thank you enough. But seriously…thank you.

Asking for help is something most of us are reluctant to do.

Asking for money is something most of us are ashamed to do.

But right now, I’m doing both.

I’m not asking for your help and your money for me. For those of you who don’t know, our friend Jordan is facing an unexpected surgery tomorrow. He’d been suffering from pain in his upper right abdomen for some time, and about a week ago, he finally gave in and went to the emergency room.

He was told that the pain was being caused by his gallbladder and that he might need an operation to take care of it. But although he had applied for insurance coverage, his policy doesn’t take effect until January 2008. Jordan opted to try to wait until the new year before having the surgery. He came home, tried to change his diet to help, and we’d been hoping for the best.

But last night, something changed.

The long and the short of it is that he had to return to the emergency room. His family learned that his gallbladder has to be removed. Jordan is sick, in incredible pain, and hasn’t been able to keep food down. There’s no way around it. There’s no waiting until January for the insurance to cover his medical bills.

And that’s the story.

Anyone who’s spent even a little time in the hospital knows how expensive it is. Surgery is tremendously expensive, and medical bills can financially devastate a family. This is a wonderful family. I consider them part of my family. And whatever we can do to help them, I want to do it.

So here’s the part where I ask you for help. Most of you don’t know Jordan but I hope that won’t stop you from considering making a donation. The expenses for the hospital visits, diagnostics, and the surgery will be thousands of dollars. Those are thousands of dollars that he and his family will have to find a way to come up with.

What we want to do is help them find as many of those dollars as possible.

Many of you have probably already donated to charity or volunteered this holiday season. But maybe you can spare a little more. Or maybe you haven’t been presented with an opportunity to give this year. If so, any donation you might make will be so very very appreciated. Every dollar you can give is one more that Jordan and his family won’t have to find.

I have set up a donation fund through my PayPal account. There is a lovely link button at the top right of this page, and it will stay there until we’ve collected every penny you folks are willing to put in there. It is a completely secure transaction, handled entirely by PayPal, and I can assure you that every single dollar in that account will go directly to Jordan’s medical bills. You don’t have to be a PayPal customer to make a contribution–you can use a credit or debit card as well.

I know that there are selfish scams and unscrupulous people pandering for money in every corner of the internet. To that end, if you have any questions or uncertainty about donating, please feel free to email me by clicking here and I will gladly do my best to address your concerns. It might be a small consolation, but it’s the best I can offer.

Whether you feel like sending money or not, your prayers mean more than anything. If you would take the time, please keep Jordan and his family in your thoughts.

To those of you who have already been so incredibly generous and made a donation - thank you! And to everyone else who will make a donation - thank you, too!

Really. Thank you so much.