DAVID ROBERGE: Help his two daughters cover costs.

Hi everyone.

As you all know, my father, David Roberge, has suddenly passed away.

He was admitted into Mass Gen in the middle of February with a positive cancer diagnosis which then officially became Aggressive Burkitt's Lymphoma.

He began chemo treatments quickly after diagnosis, and the prognosis was looking really good. He was set to come home not long after the first few rounds.

That's when the series of unfortunate events began.

First, they found more.

Then, he had to stay a little longer for monitoring.

Then, the COVID virus in his system reactivated because of the chemo destroying his immune system.

Then, it was pneumonia.

Then, it was a mystery blood infection that they couldn't pinpoint why or where it started.

Then, they couldn't lower his fever, and he was struggling with his breathing.

Then, we didn't hear back from him.

The hospital was telling us that he was very tired and was sleeping a lot, but he was still okay.

At the same time all this was happening, my sister and I were using any and all of our free time spending hours at his home deep cleaning and making repairs, reorganizing things to make it easier for him. Even putting ourselves in a little bit of debt by purchasing new things that are safer or better or needed for after chemo. We didn't tell him we were doing it either. It was our little secret meant to be a surprise for when he came back home. He thought we were just going there every now and again to care for his cat.

They explained that when getting chemo, it can cause micro-tears in the lining of his gut, esophagus, throat, and mouth. That leads to irritation and swelling, which then can lead to breathing troubles.

They gave him medication to help his breathing Wednesday, which was the day before everything turned dark. He had gotten significantly better with his breaths shortly after the medication was administered.

And then, in the early hours of Thursday morning, he went into cardiac arrest.

The blood infection took hold.

It was a result of the chemo causing micro-tears inside him. One thing was mixing with another, and it caused his heart to stop.

They performed CPR for 15 minutes and, because of his airways being so swollen, it resulted in a lack of oxygen during that time.

They were able to get him induced and on a ventilator.

Those were the longest three days of mine and my sister's lives.

Constantly visiting. Calling when we weren't.

The first day, he was resting, 100% sedated.

They did scans and tests and said they were hopeful.

The second day, they took him off of the sedation.

But he wouldn't wake up.

I went down to the hospital that day and the next.

We spent hours playing his favorite music, his old band's music, and crying and begging him to wake up for me, my sister, and our kids. I even started lying to him, saying the kids were there and wanted to say hi, so he needed to wake up to play with them. I said and did everything I could think of to trigger ANY response.

Nothing.

And Sunday evening, we were asked to make the hardest decision fathomable.

And we did.

And at about 1am on Monday, March 17th, 2025, he reunited with our mother.

Our father had so much life left in him.

Telling us, other family, and friends about how he would be fine because he has kids and grandkids to be here for. Even making plans for after he gets out of the hospital with people.

He was a brilliant musician. He encouraged others to express themselves musically. He was generous and helpful. He loved his family. He loved his bike rides for cancer. He loved his bands. He loved his kids on the bus that he drove part-time. He was a lifelong friend to people from all different walks of life.

What happened with his situation was rare and completely unexpected by all of the medical staff at the top-notch hospital Mass Gen. And it was truly a perfect storm from Hell itself.

My sister and I both have new, young families. Not only did we just lose one parent, but now we have lost both. We have suddenly inherited a debt outside of our means on top of end-of-life expenses. Because there are so many moving parts of his life, like a house, cars, credit cards, an entire record label company, unpaid medical bills, planning a service and celebration of life, etc., we have become so overwhelmed trying to juggle everything that we have now decided to tack on another bill and hire someone to help with the process.

We ask if -and ONLY if- there are any friends and family that can lend a hand in some expenses. Even the bare minimum will help exponentially. If there is anyone that understands what "being strapped for cash" means, it's us, so please do not feel obligated.

We are looking for help to cover cremation costs first and foremost. I know that the cremation alone will be about $3500.

If anything more than the cremation cost that is donated will get spread between medical expenses, lowering debt, and his service/celebration of life.

We appreciate you for taking the time to read this and please, share this with friends and family.

Thank you all for being a part of our father's life.

-Mandeigh Levesque and Nicole Richardson