Help Dan recover from his brain surgery.

Hi, on the left above is my brother Dan. Over the summer, he started seeing double and naturally went to his doctor to get it checked out. He discovered that he had a mass growing in his brain, causing him to see double. His doctors said the mass needed to be removed, but he may still have double-vision even after removing it.

He had the surgery on October 31, which removed most of the mass except for a part that was close to the brainstem (the surgeon was concerned about touching the brainstem). Dan was told he'd likely spend 3-5 days in the hospital, yet he ended up spending the next month in the hospital due to complications from the surgery. He needed a tracheotomy to help with his breathing, a feeding tube, and also (for a short time) a drain in his head to remove fluid to help reduce swelling of his brain. This is not what anyone anticipated, least of all Dan.

On November 29th, he was moved to rehab, where they said he could spend up to three weeks learning to swallow, speak, and walk again through Occupational, Speech, and Physical therapy sessions each day). This is the standard treatment for people who have a brain injury, which is how a surgery such as this is categorized (Acquired Brain Injury). Dan has had to take unpaid time off of work for this procedure, and while recent developments have been positive, it'll be a long road before he can get back to work and start drawing a salary again.

We've only just learned that he could be discharged as early as December 10th(!) and we're moving heaven and earth to get him ready for post-rehab life.

Dan will need 24/7 care after rehab for at least a few months. He's most likely moving to an Adult Care Home. This should be the perfect location to set him up for success, but, as anyone who has gone through this before has found out, these homes are not covered by medical insurance and will run several thousand dollars a month. He will continue physical, speech, and occupational therapy at the adult care home. Eventually, we'll hit the maximum allowed by his insurance (30 for each), and we will have to cover those treatments ourselves. Once strong enough, he will need to begin radiation treatment to remove what's left of the mass in his brain.

Between his fantastic girlfriend and his immediate family, we'll do whatever we can to get Dan back on his feet. We're learning a lot every day. We'll support his recovery in any way possible, and, as detailed above, his medical and living expenses will increase quickly. We hope you will consider contributing, but even if you can't right now, please keep Dan in your thoughts.