Support Dave-I in His Time of Need

Working in various public safety roles, David “Dave-I” Earnhardt has dedicated his entire life to working to the benefit of others. Those who know him adore him and know him to be selfless. Those who know him best also know that he’s stubborn and often refuses to ask for help.

I’m creating this with the hope of blunting the medical expenses he is unexpectedly facing and help cover other finances while he is out of work.

He does not know that I am doing this and I expect that no one will discuss it with him.

Since mid-August, David has been battling with a cough and shortness of breath, which turned out to be due to pneumonia. Unfortunately, outpatient treatments were not effective, and he was admitted to the hospital on 9/18.

On 9/21, he underwent a diagnostic procedure that required a breathing tube to be placed temporarily. His airway constricted during the procedure which caused the procedure to be stopped and the doctors realized it was too unsafe to remove the breathing tube at that time. He was sent to the ICU and kept sedated for most of the day and night.

I will post updates here when I am able.

9/22 AM: he remains in ICU and on the ventilator. He is still on some sedation but does wake up, communicate, and interact appropriately.

9/22 PM: there were some challenges with ventilator compliance which required his sedation to be increased.

9/23: over night and this morning, they were able to gradually decrease his sedation. He is still tired and groggy but is mostly awake. They did a test to determine that he could effectively breathe on his own, he passed this with flying colors! THE BREATHING TUBE HAS BEEN REMOVED!

9/24: he has been stable on just a nasal cannula but remains in ICU for the time being. His oxygen drops when he talks so, we would prefer to keep that to a minimum for now. He does have his cell phone and I’m sure he would appreciate text messages of support.

9/25: he was downgraded from ICU status today but remains in the ICU, waiting for a room to become available. The doctors are still searching for answers as to the cause of his pneumonia.

9/26: completely weaned off of oxygen today and given a POTENTIAL discharge date of Saturday!

9/28: DISCHARGE DAY! He was able to go home this afternoon!

Over the last week, the doctors have been telling us that they don’t believe the pneumonia is an infectious pneumonia but likely related to inflammation or other disease processes. There are still tests in progress with more tests to come in the future to identify what caused him to get so sick.

New update posted on 10/8:

9/27: results of biopsy taken during bronchoscopy on 9/21 came back showing metastatic adenocarcinoma.

10/4: first appointment with the oncologist. They discussed various possibilities concerning the source of the cancer and emphasized that a PET scan is the crucial next step in determining what exactly the cancer is and how to appropriately treat it.

10/11: PET scan completed

10/14: the oncologist says there is no clear source but wants to start chemotherapy that covers all of the things it could be at this point. He said we are calling it “adenocarcinoma of an unknown primary with metastasis to the bones and lungs”. There are several spots in his bones, especially his pelvis and spinal column and his lungs are pretty much covered.

The plan is to start chemo this week, as early as Wednesday. It’ll be once a week for 3 weeks with 1 week off after that. I asked how soon it would be before we might see any change in his status and the dr said “I think we’ll know within the first 3 treatments whether or not it’s going to make a difference.”

Please continue sending well up prayers and well wishes.