Dan Arends urgently needs your help to get him through his tragic health crisis.
As many of you may know, Dan is a lifelong resident of Pocahontas, Iowa. He attended Pocahontas Community Schools and was a graduate of the class of 1975. Dan then began his career as a machinist and CNC Programmer. Dan has worked locally, first for IIH for 15 years until they shut down. He then started working at Armstrong Machine where he was employed for 17 years before his health started taking a bad turn.
Dan’s health crisis started in early August of 2020, when he began experiencing severe pain in his lower back and had difficulty walking. Tragically, Dan’s condition continued to deteriorate day by day. By mid-August, the excruciating pain prevented him from performing his duties at work and he had to no choice but to quit his job.
By late August, Dan was unable to stand or walk due to sudden onset of semi-paralysis in his lower back and legs. Thankfully, he was able to reach his phone to call 911 and an ambulance was needed to transport him to the local hospital. Dan was required to stay hospitalized for several days while undergoing a barrage of tests and treatments. Once discharged, Dan was immediately transported to the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Manson, Iowa for care and observation.
Finally, in mid-February 2021 a Hematologist (blood specialist) broke the news. Dan has “Multiple Myeloma”, a rare and incurable form of blood cancer. (To find more information about this type of cancer, below is a link for Mayo Clinic’s page that gives an overview):
Mayo Clinic Multiple Myeloma
Obviously, this has been an extremely miserable, frustrating and expensive experience for Dan. It has taken months for him to get appointments with the various specialists, only to be referred to a different specialist and so on, and so on. Then come the follow-up visits, again having to wait months for appointments and until consultations between the doctors and specialists take place. To top it off, he is not allowed to have any visitors due to the nursing home’s strict Covid-19 restrictions.
For now, it appears that Dan has no choice but to stay in the nursing home until such time that he is able to see even more specialists and treatment plans are in place. Until then, Dan will need to rely on pain management techniques and medication just to get by.
For the most part, Dan is currently confined to a wheel chair or laying on his back in his nursing home bed, and needs staff assistance just to get to his bathroom. He has already been referred to and seen by countless different doctors and medical specialists, and it appears likely that he will face yet more specialist referrals and appointments in the coming weeks and months.
Meanwhile, hospital, medical and nursing home bills to pile up with no end in sight. All this at the same time Dan is unable to work to generate income to pay them…
This is where Dan needs your help.
As previously mentioned, Dan has not been able to work or generate income since mid-August of 2020. He then relied on his own disability insurance policy until its term expired at the end of October. He has had no source of income since then.
100% of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to Dan to help pay his hospital, doctors, specialists, re-habilitation, and nursing home bills. The nursing home alone is costing Dan a minimum of $7500.00 per month out of pocket, with no insurance to help cover it. Dan is also responsible for the cost of a wheelchair accessible mini bus to and from all of his Doctor’s appointments, most of which are hours away. Whenever Dan is released from the nursing home funding may also be used to repair a wheelchair ramp at his house.
So please, let’s give Dan a hand and help him get back on his feet by helping pay down his rapidly accumulating bills. Any relief you can provide, however big or small, will be very helpful and sincerely appreciated!
Please note: Even if you are unable to donate to Dan’s fundraiser, we ask that you pass this information along to any or all of your contacts so that we can make this a successful fundraiser for Dan!
God bless, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
As many of you may know, Dan is a lifelong resident of Pocahontas, Iowa. He attended Pocahontas Community Schools and was a graduate of the class of 1975. Dan then began his career as a machinist and CNC Programmer. Dan has worked locally, first for IIH for 15 years until they shut down. He then started working at Armstrong Machine where he was employed for 17 years before his health started taking a bad turn.
Dan’s health crisis started in early August of 2020, when he began experiencing severe pain in his lower back and had difficulty walking. Tragically, Dan’s condition continued to deteriorate day by day. By mid-August, the excruciating pain prevented him from performing his duties at work and he had to no choice but to quit his job.
By late August, Dan was unable to stand or walk due to sudden onset of semi-paralysis in his lower back and legs. Thankfully, he was able to reach his phone to call 911 and an ambulance was needed to transport him to the local hospital. Dan was required to stay hospitalized for several days while undergoing a barrage of tests and treatments. Once discharged, Dan was immediately transported to the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Manson, Iowa for care and observation.
Finally, in mid-February 2021 a Hematologist (blood specialist) broke the news. Dan has “Multiple Myeloma”, a rare and incurable form of blood cancer. (To find more information about this type of cancer, below is a link for Mayo Clinic’s page that gives an overview):
Mayo Clinic Multiple Myeloma
Obviously, this has been an extremely miserable, frustrating and expensive experience for Dan. It has taken months for him to get appointments with the various specialists, only to be referred to a different specialist and so on, and so on. Then come the follow-up visits, again having to wait months for appointments and until consultations between the doctors and specialists take place. To top it off, he is not allowed to have any visitors due to the nursing home’s strict Covid-19 restrictions.
For now, it appears that Dan has no choice but to stay in the nursing home until such time that he is able to see even more specialists and treatment plans are in place. Until then, Dan will need to rely on pain management techniques and medication just to get by.
For the most part, Dan is currently confined to a wheel chair or laying on his back in his nursing home bed, and needs staff assistance just to get to his bathroom. He has already been referred to and seen by countless different doctors and medical specialists, and it appears likely that he will face yet more specialist referrals and appointments in the coming weeks and months.
Meanwhile, hospital, medical and nursing home bills to pile up with no end in sight. All this at the same time Dan is unable to work to generate income to pay them…
This is where Dan needs your help.
As previously mentioned, Dan has not been able to work or generate income since mid-August of 2020. He then relied on his own disability insurance policy until its term expired at the end of October. He has had no source of income since then.
100% of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to Dan to help pay his hospital, doctors, specialists, re-habilitation, and nursing home bills. The nursing home alone is costing Dan a minimum of $7500.00 per month out of pocket, with no insurance to help cover it. Dan is also responsible for the cost of a wheelchair accessible mini bus to and from all of his Doctor’s appointments, most of which are hours away. Whenever Dan is released from the nursing home funding may also be used to repair a wheelchair ramp at his house.
So please, let’s give Dan a hand and help him get back on his feet by helping pay down his rapidly accumulating bills. Any relief you can provide, however big or small, will be very helpful and sincerely appreciated!
Please note: Even if you are unable to donate to Dan’s fundraiser, we ask that you pass this information along to any or all of your contacts so that we can make this a successful fundraiser for Dan!
God bless, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Organizer and beneficiary
Danny Arends
Beneficiary