Hello, Reddit! I've verified who I am with the mods. It’s great to see so many people wanting to help a fellow human — that’s the whole reason we started the GeorgePritting.info website six months ago.
However, a few things need to be made very, very clear:
-George cannot return to America under any circumstances. His ALS has progressed to the point that he cannot get medical clearance for a medical evacuation. Yes, money is an issue — it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars for a medical evac — but even if that money was raised, his health is a massive liability and he cannot get clearance. (Side note: this is why travel insurance is so important.) Doctors from the best hospitals in Indonesia, including ALS specialists, have all explained this to George. He knows this. The US embassy has, literally, exhausted every option: even exploring a military evacuation. Again, it’s NOT POSSIBLE.
-Even if the money was raised, and the medical clearance was obtained, he cannot return to America because no one will claim him. The embassy is not going to authorize an evacuation and have him dumped at an airport, alone and dying. He’s safer and more comfortable where he is now than he would be homeless in America.
-The embassy and all of the people who have been working tirelessly to try and help George have reached out to every single one of George’s relatives and acquaintances. I, personally, have contacted his son, his two sisters, his ex-wife, his former employer, and every other person I could locate. (We pulled all of his records, a background check, a police report, etc… Everything we could do to find anyone who would claim him.) We have tried phone calls, emails, FB messages, messages to schools and employers, etc… Everything. Anything to get them to ‘claim’ George and say that they are his next of kin — it got to the point where we just wanted someone to step up and claim his remains when he dies. NO ONE WANTS HIM. That’s a horrible thing to say, but it’s the reality.
-A side-effect of ALS is dementia, and while none of us knew George before he was ill, it’s a pretty solid bet that he wasn’t the most amicable man. His normal personality combined with the dementia has created a situation where he has alienated everyone who has tried to help him. If you read through his Facebook posts, you will see this is the case. One day, Tata is a thief, ‘c*nt’, liar, abuser, etc… and then the next day, we should all send money to her.
-Because there is no next of kin and no one with power of attorney, George ultimately gets to make his own decisions. We have found him a home health care aide, and paid for it, but the aide quit after a couple of hours because of the berating from George. We found George a hospice facility that would take care of him, and we had the money to pay for it, but he refused to go. We have paid for him to go to the hospital so many times, and he lashes out at the hospital staff and demands to be sent back to his boarding house.
-Money that was given to Tata was misspent — for instance, we gave money to pay the boarding house rent, and then it was spent on pizza delivery and other things. (Keep in mind, George refuses to eat rice and cannot chew or swallow. He is on a liquid diet. Any food purchased that’s not liquid is not for George.) Because of the misappropriation of funds, the donors started pooling the money and paying directly for all of the expenses — sending grocery deliveries, paying bills directly, refilling the prescriptions and having them delivered, etc… All of his needs we being met.
-Despite that, George was angry. He attacked everyone, accusing us of stealing ‘his’ money. He refused to eat the food that was delivered. He said that it was his money, and he could do whatever he wanted to do with it — and he said that what he wanted to do was give it to Tata. He sent horrible messages to all of the donors, telling them that they are horrible people and accusing them of pretty awful things. Because of that, everyone stopped donating money.
-Indonesia is a nation full of people who need help — hospitals will literally allow patients to die in the waiting room if they don’t have the cash to pay the bill up front — so most of the donors decided that there was no shortage of causes that they could contribute to that would make a bigger impact.
-GoFundMe does not support Indonesian fundraising, so any GoFundMe links are scams. I don’t know if the PayPal link that George has posted for Tata is real, but, again, it remains to be seen how much of that money would actually go to George, even if it was Tata’s PayPal. To the best of our knowledge, George does not have his own bank account. The embassy has offered to coordinate a donation pool, but George has also rejected that.
-The amount of money required to cover George’s boarding house rent + electricity + food for the month is no more than around $400 USD. His medications are around $40 USD. He doesn’t need any more money than that. If people are going to contribute, it should be coordinated — people should keep in mind that the average salary in Indonesia for a COLLEGE GRADUATE is around $400 USD per month… If people dump hundreds (or thousands) of dollars into Tata’s bank account or PayPal, it’s an absolute guarantee that it will be re-appropriated for who-knows-what.
-For people who still want to help George, a better way to help would be to purchase groceries directly (via HappyFresh.id) or household supplies (via Lazada.co.id) and have them delivered directly to George at his boarding house. The address, and his shopping list, is on the ‘How to Help’ page.
-Another way to help, albeit more indirectly, would be to contribute to a foundation focused on ALS research and/or an organization that supports terminally ill patients and their families.
-There’s no happy ending to George’s story, unfortunately. He will not be returning to America. His family has rejected him. He will die from ALS. That doesn’t mean that all of this compassion is misplaced or this outpouring of generosity is wasted — raising awareness of ALS, and the horrors of ALS, is important. Hopefully, George’s story will inspire everyone to action that’s a little more proactive than dumping a bucket of ice over their heads.
-For confirmation of what I’m saying, you can reach out to Long at the US Embassy in Jakarta. His email address is
[email protected]. George has signed a privacy waiver and it’s on file with the embassy. They are permitted to disclose all of the information about George to anyone who requests it.
Reddit is blocked here in Indonesia, and my VPN is shit right now, so I probably won't be around to reply to comments, but I've also added this info to the GeorgePritting.info website and confirmed who I am with the mods.