Support Damien's Fight Against Lymphoma

21 years ago I met one of the funniest people I have ever known. If you know Damien, you know his laughter is contagious and he has a special knack for making everyone feel at home and always included. Damien has always been generous, opening up his house, his boat, and most importantly his heart. He has helped countless people and has never wanted anything in return. I have watched him show up for so many people in the most humble way, every single time. He is always a phone call away from helping anyone in need and will never say no if someone needs him to commit a ridiculous prank on a friend. He is always there with a hug to cheer you up, or a joke to make you laugh. Always. 

That's what makes writing this so absolutely gut-wrenching. As most of you know, Damien had cancer in 2008 and after quite a fight, he successfully beat it. After this life-altering experience, Damien and his incredible wife Beth made the decision to start working towards their dream of living on their boat and sailing as much as possible. Damien and Beth moved to Mexico in 2019, where they have both been working. Damien has been diligently working on creating an exciting new business that was getting ready to launch soon. 

Unfortunately, last year Damien started suffering from intense back pain that lead to many tests, scans, biopsies and surgeries which revealed a diagnosis that nobody was expecting. Damien has been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Damien’s two surgeries and many months of heavy medication had to be 100% out of pocket in Mexico. He began the recommend first course of treatment which unfortunately wasn’t strong enough to stop the progression of lymphoma or pain. His cancer spread, and he is now being advised to come back to the Bay Area for treatment. But since he has been working tirelessly to launch his new business, Damien and Beth are not able to afford his chemotherapy and associated costs.

At this point, chemotherapy is the only hope of shrinking and removing his cancer. Beth will be taking care of him and they will be staying with his family during his treatment. This GoFundMe will help him and Beth pay for his medical bills and their living expenses.

Damien has been a source of companionship, love, joy, support, and so much laughter to so many for years. Please donate if you can, and know that any amount will help towards giving him a chance to beat this. We all love him so much and if you know Damien, you know how much he protested this GoFundMe. But he knows this is his chance. It took a lot of courage and humility for him to be open to it. But he is very, very grateful.

Beth and Damien are packing their things now and heading up to California this week to get the ball rolling as soon as possible! Thank you all for reading and sharing this with people I cannot reach. Damien has so many people in his network of friends so please repost and feel free to send to anyone you would like. Prayers and support are also very much needed.

Hopefully between treatments Damien and Beth will get to spend time with all of you they love and miss so much! We are not sure how long this could take, and we just want to make sure he is focusing on healing and not how he will be able to pay for his next treatment. We are also hoping and expecting some pain to lessen as he starts chemotherapy. This would improve his mobility and quality of life greatly.

Thank you again so much, and know that we are all so very grateful for anything you can contribute.