- K
- K
Everyone, meet Kurt. Kurt has had a rough December, more on that in a moment.
First, I want you to know a bit about the guy. I've known Kurt since we were both in grade school, I was 10 and ski-racing with his older sister when we first started spending time together. Even at that point, Kurt was essentially too nice for his own good, occasionally making him an easy mark for a joke (or several) which he thankfully took in stride. Fast-forward 23 years and we find ourselves with present day Kurt, a gentle giant (seriously) version of the kid I met long ago.
If you don't know him, you should. This is said of many, but truly, Kurt is the type of guy that cares about his family, his friends, and likely you (even if a stranger) more than himself. His laugh is readily heard rooms away but beyond that, his in particular, can be felt from that same distance. He lives a generally quiet and humble life but is passionate about what is good and right in the world along with such less serious matters as food and geeky... geeky comics.
Now that you know just a bit about this wonderful human, back to December. Earlier this month Kurt got a concussion which tends to ring anyone's bell, but he was slower to recover than we all expected. Instead of recovering from this, Kurt continued to become increasingly ill and weak rather than improving steadily as hoped for. Last Tuesday Kurt was admitted to the hospital with what was initially thought to be a blood clot, 6 blurry days later and he is intubated, breathing with the assistance of a ventilator, and facing day 4 of an intense chemo-therapy regime to fight a mediastinal germ cell tumor which is making life in general, a struggle, to put it mildly.
Despite being attached to machines, restrained, unable to speak, and more, Kurt's spirit shines through. I am genuinely amazed by his attitude every time I see him. Even via whiteboard scribble (seriously bud, your handwriting makes mine look artistic) he manages to convey his concern for others, share stories, and even jokes.
Now to the part where I (I'll ask, not sure Kurt would) would like to humbly ask for your help. Kurt, like all too many, falls into that gap of people that despite full-time employment doesn't make enough to afford health insurance nor does he make little enough to qualify for medi-care. As fate would have it, his diagnosis and rapid decline in condition started ~20 days before his newly acquired insurance was due to take effect. He faces a long fight ahead and at this point we do not know what his bill(s) are likely to be so this is an estimate and will likely change. If, during this holiday season, you're able to help, even modestly, I'd truly be grateful if collectively we could remove the financial worry and allow Kurt and his family to focus purely on supporting each other through this battle. In the spirit of transparency, please see estimated (and nerdy, it's me) costs in the spreadsheet linked below, we'll update as we know more.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MnG5Ys4XksrkqE8wdTHjqa2r6pZzKRSGWZQhvTNLehM/edit?usp=sharing
-Rob (written on behalf of the entire Deters family)
Update; GoFundMe has requested that I modify the story to indicate that Rachel H., Kurt's significantly better looking other half, will be handling the funds raised. I have zero concerns that she will do so in the best possible means to help Kurt through his ongoing fight.
First, I want you to know a bit about the guy. I've known Kurt since we were both in grade school, I was 10 and ski-racing with his older sister when we first started spending time together. Even at that point, Kurt was essentially too nice for his own good, occasionally making him an easy mark for a joke (or several) which he thankfully took in stride. Fast-forward 23 years and we find ourselves with present day Kurt, a gentle giant (seriously) version of the kid I met long ago.
If you don't know him, you should. This is said of many, but truly, Kurt is the type of guy that cares about his family, his friends, and likely you (even if a stranger) more than himself. His laugh is readily heard rooms away but beyond that, his in particular, can be felt from that same distance. He lives a generally quiet and humble life but is passionate about what is good and right in the world along with such less serious matters as food and geeky... geeky comics.
Now that you know just a bit about this wonderful human, back to December. Earlier this month Kurt got a concussion which tends to ring anyone's bell, but he was slower to recover than we all expected. Instead of recovering from this, Kurt continued to become increasingly ill and weak rather than improving steadily as hoped for. Last Tuesday Kurt was admitted to the hospital with what was initially thought to be a blood clot, 6 blurry days later and he is intubated, breathing with the assistance of a ventilator, and facing day 4 of an intense chemo-therapy regime to fight a mediastinal germ cell tumor which is making life in general, a struggle, to put it mildly.
Despite being attached to machines, restrained, unable to speak, and more, Kurt's spirit shines through. I am genuinely amazed by his attitude every time I see him. Even via whiteboard scribble (seriously bud, your handwriting makes mine look artistic) he manages to convey his concern for others, share stories, and even jokes.
Now to the part where I (I'll ask, not sure Kurt would) would like to humbly ask for your help. Kurt, like all too many, falls into that gap of people that despite full-time employment doesn't make enough to afford health insurance nor does he make little enough to qualify for medi-care. As fate would have it, his diagnosis and rapid decline in condition started ~20 days before his newly acquired insurance was due to take effect. He faces a long fight ahead and at this point we do not know what his bill(s) are likely to be so this is an estimate and will likely change. If, during this holiday season, you're able to help, even modestly, I'd truly be grateful if collectively we could remove the financial worry and allow Kurt and his family to focus purely on supporting each other through this battle. In the spirit of transparency, please see estimated (and nerdy, it's me) costs in the spreadsheet linked below, we'll update as we know more.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MnG5Ys4XksrkqE8wdTHjqa2r6pZzKRSGWZQhvTNLehM/edit?usp=sharing
-Rob (written on behalf of the entire Deters family)
Update; GoFundMe has requested that I modify the story to indicate that Rachel H., Kurt's significantly better looking other half, will be handling the funds raised. I have zero concerns that she will do so in the best possible means to help Kurt through his ongoing fight.
