Daryl Keech's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Hello wonderful people! I'm setting this up in hopes of helping out my dad, Daryl Keech. Many of you may know him from his 32 years as a nurse with the Fremont Rideout Health Group, or you may have had the pleasure of meeting him around Grass Valley (he was a frequent flyer with the morning dog park crew). You may also know of his dream to retire to the mountains of Colorado, and work his new ranch with his canine partner in crime, Bruno.
Sadly, life sometimes has turns in the path we don't anticipate. He was involved in a minor collision on his first moving trip out to CO, and we counted our lucky starts that he walked away from it. However, several days later, he was admitted to the hospital with paralysis of his lower body. Poor dad spent the first day of his hard-worked-for retirement at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital as they desperately searched for the cause of his paralysis.
That was back in May. Since then, he has spent months in the hospital with multiple relapses, been on a myriad of medications, and has seen some of the top neurologists in the country. Their best guess is that he is suffering from an auto-immune disease called Neuromyelitis Optica (Devic's Disease), which unfortunately has a poor prognosis longterm. He's looking at being blind and/or paralyzed within the next 5 years. He takes it all with as much of a smile as he can, but it is understandably disheartening.
Since the original incident, he has regained a very small amount of movement in his right leg, but is completely wheelchair bound. His dreams of retirement in the mountains were swept away with that fateful accident, but he is trying to form new plans and to enjoy the time he has left with his family.
I am here because I want to ask you all for help. As much as he tries to put on a brave face, I know how much he is affected by his lack of independence. He has been bound to his house most days because of the weakness of his upper body, and I think having access to the community again would be greatly beneficial to his state of mind.
My hope is to raise the funds to get him an electric wheelchair, which costs around $2,500. His own savings are nearly gone from the neverending stream of medical bills, and I thought this might be a good place to start raising money. What better way to show how much he's loved than to give him back his mobility with all the well-wishes from the people who love him?
If we happen to go over the $2,500 goal, I will put the additional funds towards a paraplegic standing machine, which seemed to help him greatly before his last relapse. They are between $2000 and $3000, and unfortunately the nearest rehabilitation facility that has one is in Sacramento.
Even if you can't help out financially, please send dad your most heart-felt wishes! The support of the people who care for him makes all the difference in the world!
Sadly, life sometimes has turns in the path we don't anticipate. He was involved in a minor collision on his first moving trip out to CO, and we counted our lucky starts that he walked away from it. However, several days later, he was admitted to the hospital with paralysis of his lower body. Poor dad spent the first day of his hard-worked-for retirement at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital as they desperately searched for the cause of his paralysis.
That was back in May. Since then, he has spent months in the hospital with multiple relapses, been on a myriad of medications, and has seen some of the top neurologists in the country. Their best guess is that he is suffering from an auto-immune disease called Neuromyelitis Optica (Devic's Disease), which unfortunately has a poor prognosis longterm. He's looking at being blind and/or paralyzed within the next 5 years. He takes it all with as much of a smile as he can, but it is understandably disheartening.
Since the original incident, he has regained a very small amount of movement in his right leg, but is completely wheelchair bound. His dreams of retirement in the mountains were swept away with that fateful accident, but he is trying to form new plans and to enjoy the time he has left with his family.
I am here because I want to ask you all for help. As much as he tries to put on a brave face, I know how much he is affected by his lack of independence. He has been bound to his house most days because of the weakness of his upper body, and I think having access to the community again would be greatly beneficial to his state of mind.
My hope is to raise the funds to get him an electric wheelchair, which costs around $2,500. His own savings are nearly gone from the neverending stream of medical bills, and I thought this might be a good place to start raising money. What better way to show how much he's loved than to give him back his mobility with all the well-wishes from the people who love him?
If we happen to go over the $2,500 goal, I will put the additional funds towards a paraplegic standing machine, which seemed to help him greatly before his last relapse. They are between $2000 and $3000, and unfortunately the nearest rehabilitation facility that has one is in Sacramento.
Even if you can't help out financially, please send dad your most heart-felt wishes! The support of the people who care for him makes all the difference in the world!
Organizer
Katie Young
Organizer
Grass Valley, CA