Help Josh Breathe: Protect His Life, Family, and Future

I damaged my spinal cord in 1998 while practicing for a mountain bike race and instantly went from being an elite endurance athlete to a quadriplegic. In the 25 years that have passed since that tragic instant, the love, friendship, and support I have received from you--my family, friends, mentors, and colleagues--have empowered me to overcome improbable barriers to have a life enriched by education, a legal career protecting people’s civil and human rights, and most cherished of all, a beautiful family with my wife Emely and our son Nathan. Now, a critical illness threatens everything I’ve worked for—my independence, my ability to earn a living as a lawyer, and a fulfilling life with my family. I’m asking for your support to help me survive and to secure my family’s future while I fight to recover.

From the moment my friend Tom performed emergency breathing on a foggy evening in Sibley Park until now, the support others have given me, combined with my own perseverance, has enabled me to complete my undergraduate degree with honors at UC Berkeley, and to graduate with a law degree from Boalt Law School.

Since passing the 2009 California Bar exam on the first attempt, my career as a civil rights lawyer has included winning a landmark legal victory for the deaf and hearing disabled against Netflix which led other internet video streaming companies to add captions and make their content accessible to people with disabilities. Since 2020, I’ve

had the privilege of fighting to secure essential economic supports for the Bay Area’s homeless and very low-income individuals with mental illness.

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I met and fell in love with Emely. We married in 2020 and a year later we were reunited with her young son. In these precious four years Emely and Nathan have given me newfound joy and purpose.

Recently, pulmonologists diagnosed me with a trapped and fibrotic pleural effusion that has collapsed my left lung and has radically decreased my breathing ability. The only treatment for a condition this advanced and potentially life-threatening is an open-chest

surgery to free my lung. Because I am a quadriplegic this is a high-risk surgery that requires me to travel to Oakland, where an exceptional Kaiser surgeon will perform the

procedure. A successful outcome will depend on my ability to afford the expensive uninsured medical equipment, additional caregiver time, costly trips for doctors’ appointments and other resources that will reduce my risk of infection during the crucial six- to eight-week recovery period when I will not be able to work.

I must be realistic. Successfully restoring my ability to breath might come at the cost of my ability to continue working. The odds that I may not survive the recovery period are between 10% and 20%. Pneumonia or even a bad cold could tip the fragile balance

against me. Given current events, it is less certain that my disability and health insurance benefits will cover my family’s essential expenses regardless of the outcome of the surgery and recovery period. I need your financial help.

If you can help me reach my funding goal, we will be able to turn our garage into a small apartment for a live-in caregiver. Family and friends will volunteer time to keep renovation costs down, but we will need funds to purchase building materials and cover

much of the work. Your contribution to my GoFundMe campaign will make it possible for me to have the best chance of a successful recovery and the peace of mind that comes with knowing I will have a live-in caregiver or rental income to secure a home for Nathan

and Emely.

I want to be there with Emely to see our son celebrate his accomplishments—all the big and little things parents celebrate. I want my son to know that it was a community of people who cared and made it possible for his dad to be there.

Sincerely, Joshua Davidson