Jamie Cap paralyzed playing HS football for Manville in 1979 desperately needs your help

When 16-year-old Jamie Cap, coming off an injury, suited up to play football for Manville High School on November 4, 1979, against Bound Brook on a slippery muddy field, he never dreamed it would change his life to the nightmare it has been ever since.

Cap suffered a spinal cord injury making a tackle in that game that has left him quadriplegic, with a C4-5 complete break.

When it first happened, everyone rallied around him, and his family took care of him. They sued, and in 1984, in desperate need of money since they mortgaged the house to pay his bills, settled for an amount that did not include a cost of living increase.

Now, Jamie Cap is 60 years old. His parents and friends who took care of him have all passed away. It's so bad at night that Steve Politti writes on nj.com that,  "He said he has often had to call 911 to have the cops wake his brother, who has his own health issues when he needs to be turned in his bed. At least that doesn’t cost him anything."

A gofundme page has been set up to help Jamie Cap who called into my New Jersey 101.5 show. Which you can hear here.

When we hear of these catastrophic injuries to athletes like Eric Legrand and Mikey Strong Nichols, we sympathize, rally to the cause with fundraisers and whatever we can do. But as the years go by, long after the memories of what happened, these injured athletes still need help.

Jamie Cap is a good man who gave his all for his team and his town, and is now in a dire situation. The hydraulic lift, which is suspended over his bed and the only way to get him up in the morning, is no longer operable. His wheelchair-accessible van is 17 years old, and in need of repair. He owes tens of thousands of dollars to those who have helped him in the past, and what he receives from his settlement barely covers his mounting bills.

Things are so bad, that he has posted the following ad on social media:

Hello--Jamie here--I am in immediate need of somebody who can live in my house and help take care of me in exchange for rent. I prefer somebody that doesn’t drink but if they do somebody that knows how to handle it. If anybody out there is interested please contact me. I’ve been needing this for a while and only hope I can find that needle in a haystack!

If there's anything you can do or anyway you can help, please read and respond to Jamie's Gofundme page here.

Through it all, Jamie ends his story with the words he began his High School career with, "Manville Mustangs Never Quit--Ever."

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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