Help Dave Win The Battle Against Stage IV Cancer!

Melissa McClintock is organizing this fundraiser.

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To All the Friends of Dave Barnes,

Hello, this is Melissa, Dave’s wife and biggest fan.

I am sending out an S.O.S. as far and wide as possible to help Dave beat Stage IV Lung and Bone Cancer, discovered in August of 2022.

My hope is to build “Team Dave”, a network of encouragement and support for Dave to help get him through the next two years of intense cancer treatments. Costs of care are immense and if we, as a team, can help Dave focus on his health without fear of financial collapse I believe he will have a better chance of victory. (The reasons for this need is multiple and I will discuss in detail in updates.)

Why be on Team Dave? Dave is a fighter. He is strong, he is courageous, and Dave is “In It to Win It”. If anyone can do this, it is Dave.

Some background: Last year Dave and I decided to embark on the adventure of a lifetime: buying an RV and taking his CPA practice on the road. We hoped to have some adventures, meet new friends and make lasting memories. We were also inspired to reduce our overhead and do more on less. Our adventure took a tragic turn in August 2022, when Dave needed a CT scan for severe nagging shoulder pain. The scan showed Stage IV metastatic cancer in the lung and left clavicle. This was the source of the pain that he had been diligently going to physical therapy for. It took a further six months to get pain management and treatment. Seeing Dave, a big tough man in this kind of unremitting, extreme pain, falling through all the cracks of the medical system, is what has moved me to ask you for help. I learned that we cannot do this alone despite how hard we tried.

A very long story short (happy to answer any questions) we have traveled to California where Kaiser, our HMO, has excellent cancer care. We have been met with compassion and treatment has begun. This includes chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy including the Pacific Protocol.

After four weeks of treatment, Dave’s pain is finally beginning to recede, and he can get off the heavy duty pain medications. To say that we are grateful to our cancer team here is a vast understatement, as well as the support of family and friends.

On the downside, the extreme tumor pain and side effects of the treatments are impacting Dave’s ability to work (as well as mine as I am not licensed in California) at full tilt during tax season. He is known to give his all to tax season. He is ensuring that all his clients and responsibilities will be met of course. However, the expectation of declining income at peak earning season coupled with high out of pocket medical costs as well as California cost of living are burdening Dave with great anxiety. Seeing Dave agonize over meeting financial issues while he is on the Hero’s Journey to beat the cancer breaks my heart. This is another reason that I decided we must set pride aside and ask for and receive help.

I think most who know Dave would agree that he is a generous man with a huge heart, especially for the downtrodden, environment and animals. He has been a loyal friend to many, the best husband I could hope for, a good brother and son. He has loved being a gracious provider of legendary crab boils, a generous host of the Bennington Bungalow with epic wine tours, an outstanding CPA to his clients and just generally the type of man who leaves the world better than he finds it. So many good memories have been made for us with Dave as the instigator of fun and good times.

I am asking you to join together with us and be a support team for Dave now that he needs help. Please donate if you can. Your donations will help cover medical and living expenses, while Dave focuses on the battle for his life. We expect to succeed.

Please share this with mutual friends or other folks that might be interested in helping this most worthy man during this most difficult time.

I will be providing regular updates for those of you who are interested.