Electric Wheelchair and Family Staycation for Dave

Our Dad, Dave Shakespeare, has been battling Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (WM) for over 10 years now.  WM is a rare form of blood cancer that causes too many abnormal white blood cells, known as lymphoplasmacytic cells, in the bone marrow.  It makes him very weak and short of breath as oxygen cannot circulate around his body.  There is no cure, only drug management.  So far he has taken 2 rounds of chemotherapy  which gave him a higher quality of life for a couple years after each round.  For the last 5 years he has been on an experimental drug called Imbruvica that worked well, until it stopped working.  Now, for the past 5 months, his body has been rapidly declining.  He has almost completely lost the function of his legs and is wheelchair bound.  He has barely enough energy to get from his bed to his chair without losing his breath.  Dad is just starting a third round of chemotherapy, but chemo is risky.  He is very weak and his hemoglobin is low.  There is a good chance the chemo will be too much for him which will prevent him from finishing the course of treatment. 

We are reaching out to you today in hopes of raising enough funds to pay for Dad's electric wheelchair ($200/month or $2000 to buy) and take him on a staycation to the beach with his family (https://www.kingfisherspa.com/).  Family means everything to Dad.  He has been a dedicated, kind, gentle, loving father for 38 years.  He is a good man, a kind man.  It feels extremely unfair for his life to be cut short.  Dad now has 4 grandchildren who are his source of joy.  We want to give him one last family trip so he can spend quality time with them.  Watch them play on the beach and frolick in the ocean.   Family time is something we all look forward to.  Playing games, doing puzzles, going for walks, swimming, having dance parties, etc.   Over the last year we have had very little time to connect as a family due to the pandemic. Now, time is precious and every moment counts.