TEAM TOMMY

Aloha friends,

My name is Sue Gourlay and I have set up this GoFundMe for my dear friend Tommy Dier to help him and his beautiful family, wife Lyn, and daughters Tiara and Naia, cover their initial hospital stay and now, ongoing medical costs, after he contracted Rat Lungworm Disease.

For those who do not know, Rat Lungworm is very depilating and an excruciatingly painful disease which affects the brain and spinal cord. Rat Lungworm is found in rodents, their feces carry the lavae of the worm which is passed through snails, slugs, land crabs freshwater shrimp and frogs, this disease is in Hawaii and most commonly contracted by eating raw and undercooked foods. Even careful washing of fresh produce can miss the most minute of lavae. Further information can be found on the State of Hawaii Disease Outbreak Control Division.

Tommy is one of the the strongest people I know, having overcome some very serious medical issues in his life, however, this disease has proved to be an unknown, the worms have died, but have left him with a daily battle of pain, even the doctors are trying to understand how to help, at this point, nobody can give him an answer as to what will happen in the future and how long his pain will last.

Many of us know Tommy /Tom/Thomas, as the amazing artist, the surfer or the killer ping pong and tennis payer but most of all, I think most of know Tommy as our kind, funny, generous and ultra, ultra positive much loved friend.

I myself was the recipient of a hugely successful GoFundMe when I had a Stem Cell Transplant in 2017 and its because of this, I suggested they need one too, being so humble, they initially declined, but I explained to them, friends always help friends, strangers help strangers too, if we all donate some money, then you can get through this without the daily financial worry. We need Tommy to focus on his health and recovery and then, they too can pay it forward as I have done.

We need to help this family get through this difficult financial time.

Thank you for all and any help

Love Sue xx