TL;DR:
Kirk suddenly began suffering from severe seizures around his sons’ graduations in June, leaving him unable to work, drive, or fully function while on heavy anti-seizure medications. Dana now shoulders all caregiving, household, and financial responsibilities. With bills piling up and Kirk’s recovery uncertain, they are seeking community support through GoFundMe to cover essential expenses and medical costs during this difficult time.
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Full Story:
Life can change in an instant, and for Kirk and Dana, it did so in June. What started as a proud weekend celebrating their sons' college graduations quickly turned into a terrifying health crisis. Kirk had been uncharacteristically quiet during the morning, and by lunchtime had lost his ability to speak. A frantic trip to the emergency room led to a diagnosis that no one wanted: severe seizures.
The days that followed were a waking nightmare. Kirk's first seizure, a "tonic-clonic" episode, was controlled with a single medication, but even after he was sent home, his speech was still confused. Dana would ask him if he knew who she was, and he would nod and answer, "Seven." It was clear something was still terribly wrong. Then at home a few days later, he had another seizure, followed almost immediately by several more. Dana and their son, Alec, called 911, where he was rushed to St. Vincent Hospital and admitted to the Neural Critical Care Unit. For several days, Kirk was in a constant battle with his own body, enduring back-to-back seizures that wouldn't stop.
Doctors finally managed to halt the seizures with a powerful cocktail of four different medications. While Kirk and Dana are immensely grateful for these medicines, they come with the heavy price tag of severe side effects. Kirk is left feeling exhausted and weak, unable to work, sometimes needing a cane to walk around his own home. For the entire month of July, he was like a zombie, sleeping away his days as his body tried to recover.
Still today, Kirk remains on three powerful anti-seizure medications. He is not allowed (by law) to drive and even typing an email is a trial. While a bit of his personality has begun to return, he is still struggling to fully participate in life. He tries very hard to look and act "normal" when he is in public (which is exhausting for him), but when you are with him, you can tell he isn't all the way back to himself. And with him unable to work, the financial strain on the family has become immense. They have already taken several steps to help ease paying the bills: drastically reducing their spending, consolidating their debt, seeking help with utilities. But they are starting to fall behind on their monthly bills.
Dana is still able to teach her piano and voice students, which is a huge blessing, and being able to work from home is a big relief to them both, so she is rarely far if Kirk needs her. In addition, Dana has had to take on all the cooking, cleaning, driving, scheduling doctor's appointments and medical tests, plus the financial worry all on her own, all these things they used to share.
Kirk and Dana are incredibly hopeful that this is a temporary situation, but they also know that recovery can be a long and unpredictable journey. This GoFundMe is a lifeline for them, a way to help them stay afloat while Kirk focuses on his health. Every donation, no matter how small, will go directly to helping them cover essential living expenses and medical costs during this incredibly difficult time.
While Kirk and Dana have learned the power of asking for help, they both have a lot of pride. Kirk, especially, hates having to ask for financial help, but they both know they will need their village to get through this. The help they have already gotten has been priceless, and they thank everyone profusely from the bottom of their hearts.
Please consider giving what you can to help Kirk and Dana get back on their feet. Your kindness and generosity would mean the world to them as they navigate this challenging chapter.