Come This Far By Faith

Greetings --  

My name is Shelia and this fundraising effort is being held on behalf of Darius Crenshaw.   I met Darius in 1987 when I lived in Boston and we attended the same church - New Covenant Christian Center.  He was in graduate school at MIT growing in the Lord, sharing his faith, and serving as a leader of the Black Christian Fellowship.  Darius is a giver, helping people in any way possible, so I want to stand with him in faith and assist him as he goes through a life storm.

Darius has lived and worked in Dallas/Fort Worth since 1993. For the last 4 years he has battled serious illness. His health began to fail late in 2014. By March of 2015, he suffered from a variety of cardiovascular (stroke-level high BP), kidney and joint issues, along with constant dizziness and headaches. Over the next 2.5 years, his doctors worked feverishly but only treated symptoms. Like the woman in the Bible with the issue of blood, despite the efforts of doctors, his health continued to deteriorate.  Essentially bedridden for much of the summer of 2017, by mid-July, he came to grips with the fact that he might not live to see 2018. At his lowest point, it seems as if Darius spent more time in the doctor’s office and hospital rooms than he spent at home.  For those of you who know him well, the fact that Darius did not set foot in a gym for over five months is indicative of the seriousness of his condition. 

The Lord blessed abundantly in September of 2017 when Darius found a local doctor who correctly identified the root cause of his illness as a rarely diagnosed "thyroid hormone forward conversion disorder." In short, his thyroid panel tests were all within the normal range (T3 on low side), but his reverse T3 (RT3) was off the chart. RT3 can be thought of as the body’s “metabolic emergency brake". Up until that point, no other doctor had ever measured his RT3. His new doctor then created a treatment plan that would manage the disorder and hopefully restore him to good health.  Since then, Darius’ health has improved in proportion to the amount of inexpensive health care that he has been able to obtain. Unfortunately, managing his condition is not cheap.  Finally in recovery, his health has improved to the point that he is now actively seeking employment.  However, for over four years, illness compromised his life -- his ability to work, financially support himself and function physically.

Four plus years is a long time to pay large medical bills without an income and adequate health insurance. Darius' faith, financial stewardship and generous help from a few dear friends have sustained him, but now he is in immediate need of greater outreach.  His funds are depleted (but not his faith), so I  am soliciting your prayers and financial support to help him maintain his housing,  keep his utilities on (heat/lights/water), defray his on-going medical costs, and assist with transportation (due to a recent accident he is currently without a functioning car). Receiving sufficient assistance would lift the financial burden off his shoulders and hopefully provide him with two to three months during which he can focus on gaining employment and resuming his life's activities. 

I ask you as his family, friends or someone whose life he has touched in a positive manner to be a blessing and give to this GoFundMe initiative.  I will ensure that all of you will be updated on the difference that your gift makes. Finally, we ask you to use the highest level of discretion regarding the information shared above about our brother Darius. We want this effort to be a blessing to him and not a misfortune.