Yammy Bear family launches fundraiser ahead of Jackson's treatment for rare illness

John Molseed, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Nov. 11—SPRING VALLEY — The man inside the Yammy Bear is asking for help as he prepares for treatment for a rare illness.

Yammy Bear has spent the last few years spreading hugs and support from attending a birthday party to which no one RSVP'd to comforting members of a community reeling from a tragedy.

Now the family of Charles "CJ" Jackson is asking for help through

GoFundMe

while he isolates in preparation for a bone marrow transplant to treat his Al Amyloidosis.

CJ and his wife, CarolAnn live in Spring Valley, Minnesota, with their six children. However, CJ needs to be closer to Mayo Clinic for several rounds of treatment beginning the week before Thanksgiving. If all goes as hoped, the treatments will culminate in a bone marrow transplant the first week of December.

"I'm really nervous about what the next six weeks is going to look like for him," CarolAnn said.

The transplant will also leave CJ with a compromised immune system, which means he'll have to be away from his children for a few weeks, CarolAnn said. That means the family will have to keep two homes while CJ recovers.

The treatment can start in part because chemotherapy he started in late summer has been successful, she added. The robust and immediate treatment plan is good news. However, the unexpected expenses are more than the family can handle now, CarolAnn said.

"I've been so excited and grateful I haven't been able to stress or cry about the logistics," she said. "But the timing is impeccable."

Being away from their 3-year old daughter will be hard on both father and child, she added.

"I don't think we've even said anything about it out loud yet," CarolAnn said.

Staying isolated will be another challenge, she added.

"He's so active, he's so involved and he can't say no," she said.

CJ was

diagnosed with Al Amyloidosis shortly before leaving on a trip for Uvalde, Texas

, in the wake of a mass shooting at a school there. CJ made public appearances in support of the community and met with survivors there. He began chemotherapy to treat his illness, which affects protein production, when he returned home to Minnesota.

Monies from the GoFundMe campaign will go toward expenses for keeping two homes and transportation, CarolAnn said, adding the family is grateful for the support they've received so far.

"I think that emotionally, having these people in his life reach out and pray with him has helped him a lot," she said.