Donate to Support David Hass

Hello, My name is Elyza Hass -

In honor of Dave on his birthday, I have organzied a fundraiser on behalf of Dave’s medical expenses in regards to his recent diagnosis with brain cancer. In the upcoming weeks, Dave will be traveling to MD Anderson hospital in Houston,Texas for an awake Cranionomy to resect as much of his brain tumor as possible. This will be followed by radiation and chemotherapy.

How we got here:

At the beginning of February, Dave started experiencing issues with his speech. He describes these instances as spells where he was “unable to vocalize what he wanted to say”. Dave scheduled a visit with his primary doctor to discover what was going on. Dave’s primary doctor concluded this speech impediment was a result of Anxiety. He continued to live as normal but tried to manage the “anxiety” as best as possible. (Spoiler: it wasn’t anxiety).

On 2/25, Dave suffered a set of seizures. The first seizure, Dave was asleep and unconscious. Dave’s girlfriend, Marissa Raimonde, saved his life. Marissa, a blessing to the family and to Dave, was there to call paramedics and perform 10 minutes of chest compressions until paramedics showed up. Dave hadn’t gained consciousness until the time the paramedics showed up. Immediately, Dave was rushed to the nearest hospital, Saint Joseph’s in Lincoln Park. There, he was given anti-seizure medication which he is still on. They held Dave in ICU for three days, knowing they do not have the medical equipment that Dave needs. From Saint Joseph, Dave was transported by ambulance to Alexian Brothers in Elk Grove Village. Dave’s 3D MRI showed a brain tumor on his left frontal lobe which had caused the seizures. Dave then had a brain biopsy of the tumor on 3/2.

Diagnoses:

The resulting diagnosis is Grade II astrocytoma, a Giloma tumor. Through further imaging, pathology and appointments with doctors the tumor was much bigger and aggressive than initially anticipated. The majority of the tumor is on the left side of his brain but it does cross through the corpus callosum infiltrating the right ride of his brain as well. The tumor is intertwined and up against primary motor and speech functions of the brain.

How we can help:

Brain cancer is not the only battle Dave is fighting, but the constant denial by insurance to cover his insurance claims. What Dave needs from us is support of his medical expenses. The proceeds of his fundrasier will go to Dave’s present and future ongoing medical expenses, including the travel, hospital stays, and stressors we can allieviate for him. I have great faith in our community, and to those who love Dave, that we will come together to fight these battles with him. If you know Davey, you know that god is great, he is real, and we will get through this together.

With the cards that are being dealt, Dave has remained hopeful, extremely strong and high spirited. If you know Dave, his amount of strength doesn’t come as a surprise to you because you know he can get through anything. Thank you to everyone who continues to hold Dave in their hearts, thoughts, and prayers. Let’s share Davey our love and support!

For Dave #teamhass