Hello! My name is Kathryn. I am the daughter of a former Navy Corpsman, AKA Devil Doc. My dad, David Neal, served 14 years in the Navy from 1986-2000 . During his time in the military, he experienced thousands of kidney stones. Upon his discharge, he suffered numerous medical issues with his kidneys as a result of all of the kidney stones. Eventually, it led to his diagnosis of kidney failure in 2013 and an emergency need for dialysis.

After his diagnosis of renal failure, my dad has spent 12 years on dialysis. During that time he had varied between in center dialysis and home dialysis, with dialysis ranging from 3 days a week to 5 days a week. It was exhausting for him, but as exhausting as it was, he always pushed through and was there for his family (his wife Jodie, his daughters Kathryn (me) & Elizabeth, and his son's David Jr., Hunter, and Noah) and his many friends.

On June 2nd 2025, our lives changed. What started as a doctor visit for a small painful lump on my dad's abdomen and side, ended with a rare and life threatening diagnosis. What we potentially thought was just an abscess, ended up being the beginning stages of a horrible and rare disease called Calciphylaxis. For those that don't know or have never heard of it, Calciphylaxis is the build-up calcium in the skin and fat tissue's small blood vessels. This disease results in clotting and painful skin lesions that result in the ulceration of the skin. The morbidity rate of this disease is 45-80% within a year, with 39% morbidity by 6 months.

On June 23rd 2025, my father was officially placed on hospice. Within a matter of a few weeks, my father rapidly declined and hospice advised us that death was imminent. While we were hoping for 6 months to a year, our time was drastically cut short. My mother, Jodie Neal, has been my fathers primary caregiver since he started home dialysis years ago and through his time on hospice.

As anyone can imagine, this has completely broken our family and has caught us off guard. I'm asking for assistance in helping my family prepare for the imminent passing of my father. With my father being 100% disabled and my mother out of work as my father's primary caregiver, finances have been strained. My dad's wishes were to be cremated, which we will honor. Although he was a veteran, the VA does not cover death immediately, loved ones have to pay out of pocket and then are potentially reimbursed a percentage of what they have paid. My family is appreciative of anyone willing to donate to help pay for his funeral cost and to assist my family with any other financial challenges that may arise after his passing. Thank you all and God Bless.