Dear friends
I have a good friend in Iceland called Jón Gunnar Benjamínsson. I want
to tell you the story about the cruel timing of the global collapse of
the financial markets in his life.
Jón Gunnar was working as a tourist guide, setting up his own
operation, and much beloved for his skills as a master hunter,
fisherman and trained chef, leading expeditions around Iceland and into
its inhospitable inland.
In September 2007 Jón was in the back seat of a car when it skid and
tumbled of a mountain pass, and Jón was thrown from the car and ended
up with the weight of it crashed on top of him. He was kept in coma for
the next six weeks and it took 65 liters of blood transfusions to keep
him alive. Once awake he could not talk or walk.
Two months later his voice came back, his legs however is another
story. He is in a wheel chair now. The doctors say that in cases like
his there is a window of opportunity of 18 months to recover ability in
the legs. Ever since Jón is in constant treatment and training.
Every now and then I get these beautiful messages over Face book from
Jón. “My left leg moved yesterday,” or “by accident had the cold water
running in the shower this morning and my legs felt it.” Last week he
posted this one minute video on You Tube which brought tears of joy to
my eyes. See it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoO1kMhZQ6k.
Jón is floating upright in a swimming pool and for a few seconds he is
able to will both his legs to kick. Notice the look in his eyes as he
looks up to the camera, such hope, trust, confidence. He is determined
to walk again.
There is an advanced experimental treatment in France that works
wonders on people with his kind of progress. This November, 14 months
after his accident, they have been able to fit Jón into their program.
As the treatment is not covered by insurance last month Jón went on
Icelandic TV to raise funds. Even though as we’ve all heard on the
world news Iceland was going bankrupt, his fellow country men set aside
their own concerns and generously donated money for him to use for this trip.
A couple of weeks ago that money was worth quite alot and almost
enough to pay for his treatment. A couple of days ago the money was
worth only half and today there is no bank in the world left who
exchanges the Icelandic currency. So far, Iceland has been given a cold
shoulder by its European and American allies, and now might have to
borrow 4 billion dollars from Russia. Iceland is fucked and so is Jón,
or so it seems.
I am writing this letter because I want you to know how the financial
collapse is hurting a dear friend of mine who never did anything to
deserve it, and I am writing you to consider donating even a small
amount to help him pay for his treatment. Many small amounts will make
a big one.
On his blog at
http://jongunnar.blogcentral.is/ Jón has posted this note:
“Dear Friends and readers of this weblog!
I'm hoping to travel to France for some medical treatment to improve my
leg movement. For those of you who would be willing to sponsor me
financially, a bank account has been opened in my name. The following
is the account information:
Account: 0162-05-270209
IBAN: IS76 0162 0527 0209 2703 7536 79
SWIFT (BIC): LAISISRE
For those who prefer to use Paypal simply send me an email to
premiumiceland @ hive.is stating what amount you wish to support me
with and I will reply with a money request form via Paypal.
Yours respectfully,
Jón Gunnar Benjamínsson.”
Jón refused to accept a donation from me as a friend and former
farmhand at his dad's cow farm, until I insulted him by saying he is
the lousiest fundraiser in the world. I was in Iceland this summer for
a month at an art residency, in a house the writer Gunnar Gunnarsson
left to the state to be used as a cultural center. When Gunnarsson had
his fatal heartache he insisted in his last action on earth to pay the
ambulance drivers before taking him to hospital, as he could not stand
the thought of being indebted to anyone. This is very much the way my
friend Jón Gunnar Benjaminsson is. If you can donate I am sure he will
insist on showing you the best of time in Iceland once he is –yes,
literally– back on his feet. Because you will have partly made that
possible.
Thank you for your listening, thank you for caring
Abrazos y besos
Adam
Kæru lesendur þessarar síðu!
Í gær barst mér tölvupóstur frá sveitungum mínum sem vilja greiða götu mína í því að komast í Laserponcture meðferðina í Frakklandi í haust. Þar fara fremstir í flokki þeir Jóhannes Geir Sigurgeirsson á Öngulsstöðum og Leifur Guðmundsson í Klauf ásamt fleira góðu fólki. Svohljóðandi bréf mun birtast í næsta sveitapósti og hefur verið skorað á mig að birta það hér á þessari síðu:
Veitum Jóni Gunnari lið !!
Eins og flestir vita þá varð Jón Gunnar Benjamínsson á Ytri Tjörnum fyrir alvarlegu slysi fyrir tæpu ári og er eftir það bundinn við hjólastól. Jón Gunnar hefur sýnt ótrúlegan dugnað við að koma sér út í lífið á nýjan leik en betur má ef duga skal. Hann er nú að fara í kostnaðarsama endurhæfingu til Frakklands þar sem vonir eru bundnar við að ný meðferð geti hjálpað honum til að ná frekari bata.
Jón Gunnar hefur um árabil verið gleðigjafi í lífi okkar sem búum í þessu sveitarfélagi og aldrei horft í tíma eða fyrirhöfn þegar þurft hefur að taka til hendinni. Nú höfum við tækifæri til þess að greiða örlítið inn á þessa skuld. Ef við tökum okkur saman og leggjum hvert og eitt örlítið af mörkum getum við létt undir með honum í baráttunni sem er framundan.
Hært er að leggja inn á reikning sem hefur verið stofnaður í hans nafni í Landsbankanum, rekningsnúmer: 0162-05-270209, kennitala 270375-3679. Við hvetjum ykkur til þess að koma þessu einnig á framfæri við þá sem ekki fá sveitapóstinn okkar og þið vitið að vildu leggja málefninu lið. Ef fólk vill hafa annan hátt á er hægt að hafa samband í síma 463 1236 eða 868 7121 og við nálgumst framlagið til ykkar.
Vinir og velunnarar Jóns Gunnars
