David White's Physical & Cognitive Recovery

On Wednesday, May 3rd our friend Dave White suffered a catastrophic medical event while driving to work. He managed to get himself off the freeway and followed hospital signs that led him to Royal Oak Beaumont where he was rushed into surgery with what's called an "aortic dissection" - a small tear in the aorta that needs to be fixed immediately. By the time he got into surgery, the aorta had completely split from the top of his chest down into his abdomen. His life was saved by the surgeons at Beaumont who performed an artificial aortic replacement. Over the next couple days, while under the full assist of supplemental oxygen, he had several procedures to stop the bleeding in his chest and abdomen. Once he was stabilized, we learned that Dave also suffered a stroke during the process and likely would not regain the ability to speak. He has regained the power of both legs and most of both arms - with movement in his right hand/arm coming after a couple weeks with no movement. He has also regained a bit of speech, though sometimes the words don't make sense or are only partial. He has a LONG way to go as he battles to get back to the Dave we all know and love. Only time will tell how much of each of those abilities he'll be able to fully regain or if Dave will ever be able to work again.

Anybody that knows Dave, knows that he is the sole source of family income and full-time caregiver to his daughter and partner Angela who is suffering from degenerative Multiple Sclerosis that’s left her with severely compromised motor skills. Dave has also been the main transport and medical liaison during their daughter Tomania's three rounds of chemotherapy at Children's Hospital in Detroit, then auto-immune therapy and stem cell transplant at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, after her diagnosis with Hodgkin's Disease in March of 2020.

One thing we know for sure is that Dave, Angela, and Tomania are going to be facing some pretty crippling financial circumstances with costly medical bills and lack of an income source in the upcoming months. We hope to raise funds for the family until Dave can get back on his feet or his insurance situation is figured out.

Scott Schroeder (Dave's college roommate and friend since 1990)

Angela (Dave's partner and baby-mama)