Giving Back To Someone Who Has Given Us So Much!

If you are receiving this Go Fund Me notice, you either know Christian Damek directly or you know someone who does. If you know Christian, then you may already be aware of his current difficulties, and may have been one of his angels who has generously contributed your medical expertise, your time, dropping off prepared meals, taking him on an errand, picking up groceries, contributing financially, delivering encouragement and well-wishes in person or otherwise. For all these and many other acts of generosity and labors of love Christian is so deeply grateful.

It isn't easy for him to let this Go Fund Me request go out, but a few of us have persuaded him that most of us would welcome the opportunity to be helpful in his hour of need.

As most of you know, Christian had struggled with pain in his hips for a couple of years before finally seeing a local surgeon to discover that both of his hips needed to be replaced. The first surgery was slow to heal and Christian experienced a significantly longer time of debilitating pain than expected limiting his ability to get back to any weight-bearing activity. It has come to light that the wrong sized prosthesis was used which incorrectly positioned his leg explaining some of his difficulties recuperating. Nonetheless, the second surgery was scheduled within the year with optimism.

The second hip replacement, however, did not go smoothly. Too large of a prosthesis was again used and the surgeon fractured Christian's femur during the procedure and placed a metal band around the bone. Very soon an infection set in which was ignored, and that is ultimately what has led to his having to have a third urgent surgery in Modesto to clean the infection from his body (there was a lot) and remove the hip prosthesis and band (speculated to have introduced the infection), saving his life.

Consequently, Christian who has at the time of this writing spent over a week in the hospital has now been transferred to a rehab facility where he will be for the next 7-10 days. His road to recovery is a challenging one. He will return home mid-February but will be receiving intravenous antibiotics for the next 4.5 weeks and will be non-weight bearing for the duration. He has a temporary plastic hip prosthesis in place until the fourth surgery can be done, and that won't be for at least another 6 weeks, to ensure that he is infection free. During this time he will still be non-weight bearing. This will significantly limit his ability to resume his life, including his ability to earn a living.

Christian is someone who exemplifies "Right Livelihood." Valuing the crucial importance of being a healing force in the world he has chosen to live his life in alignment with that value. He has lived modestly and given generously of his skills as a yoga teacher--one of the firsts in this county--as a massage therapist, and as a seeker of spiritual wisdom. He has opened his home for countless retreats, participated fully in our community in support of peace and justice, supported the evolving work of bio-spirituality by Friars Campbell and McMahon, and been a good friend to countless people who have come through his life. He is my dear friend, my adopted brother, and though "still not half perfect" to borrow from Mary Oliver, he is generous to a fault, kind, deeply reflective, without guile, willing to lend a hand in any way he can, an engaged life-long learner, and one of the most unique persons I have ever met.

This is a very challenging time for him. Pain has been such a constant presence in his life for such a long time, and the relief from it that he had hoped for has not come. The promise of that relief is still far ahead of him. He will need our encouragement, and he will require some assistance with daily life. He will need financial help while he is unable to work. You will know what you can offer. If you can offer some financial assistance, this is one way to do it.

Thank you for reading this. Thank you in advance for offering what you can.

Most Sincerely,

Meryl...as representative of many of Christian's friends who thought we ought to do this

PS. You absolutely do NOT have to leave a suggested tip on GoFundMe. Simply click on the bar below their estimated tip percentage and slide it back to to the left to zero or whatever is your choice!