Paying for Dan's Emergency Heart Surgery

Dan is a big-hearted man who works hard to serve people in need at home and across the ocean. He is Dad to three young adult children and husband to Nora, a loving a devoted wife.

On May 24, 2021, Dan was home with his son, who was visiting from out of state, when he began to experience excruciating chest pain. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where Nora later learned that Dan had not had a heart attack, but rather an aortic dissection that could have ended his life. He underwent a twelve-hour emergency surgery to repair the dissection (a risky surgery that Nora was told has a 50/50 rate for positive outcome). Surgery went well, but Dan's kidneys weren't functioning, so after a couple days in the ICU, he was put on dialysis. Thankfully, dialysis gave his kidneys the break they needed, and after a few days, dialysis was suspended. Soon after this, as his post-operative condition improved, he was moved out of the ICU to a regular room where Dan continues to recover and heal while Nora keeps the household afloat as she and the kids take turns visiting him.

Before May 24, Nora, who works at a local school, had just finished up the year and was thinking about how they would spend their summer. They had just purchased some new bushes and plants to spruce up their yard to enjoy after an especially hard-fought year of work and life. They had persevered through a lot of challenges already, and are now suddenly faced with the biggest challenge yet.

It's unknown at this time how much Dan's medical care and recovery will cost or how much will be covered by the VA. For now, we're setting the fund-raising goal at $10,000, and we hope to raise at least $5,000 of that by August 1, 2021. It's our hope that these initial gifts will help when the bills first begin to roll in. As more information becomes available, we'll adjust the goal and time frame. When asked about the impending medical bills, Nora replied, "I'm simply praying that all of it will be covered some way."

Please join us in helping Dan and his family land on their feet after this crisis. Your gift will help Dan focus on healing rather than worrying about how his medical bills will impact his family into the future. Whatever you are able to gift will be deeply appreciated. Even small dollar amounts add up, so no amount is too small.

Thank you.