TEAM DAVID OLDAKER
Donation protected
Let me introduce you to David and Leigh Ann. This story is really about David but you can't introduce one without the other - they are a TEAM, the captains of a team actually as they have four kids they are coaching through life with loving support. Life right now has been disrupted for this TEAM by serious health issues David is presently battling. They need our help.
THE BACK STORY
Five years ago David had, as so many of us do, a common cold. His cold spread to his heart which led to viral cardiomyopathy that resulted in a stroke and two heart attacks. He was 42 years old. An ICD pacemaker along with medication has allowed David to continue to live life and work 40 hour weeks for the past five years to support his family. Since the initial virus, a heart transplant has always been in the cards for David, but he has worked diligently to keep up good health to stave off the inevitable, as a transplant is generally good for about 13 years. As the inevitable became a reality this past October, David and Leigh Ann began a weekly 3 hour commute from their home in Santa Rosa to Stanford for the testing to place David on the transplant list. David's good general health and A+ blood type gave him the opportunity to possibly receive a new heart within three weeks but, they hit a snag.
THE SNAG!
During further routine testing for the transplant list, the doctors at Stanford noticed one of David's lymph nodes was enlarged. Testing revealed stage 2 metastatic squamous neck cancer with an unknown primary source. Now this might seem like a dead end to some and yes it took David, temporarily, off the transplant list, but the Stanford doctors have a plan and the TEAM has hope. With the plan in place, it is now time for the TEAM to inventory their resources. THIS IS WHERE WE COME IN.
THE GOAL
David and Leigh Ann need to move to Stanford for at least seven weeks for radiation treatments and chemotherapy for David's cancer. As you can well imagine this was not in their annual budget not to mention, David and Leigh Ann will most likely be missing Christmas with their children. On the bright side, they plan to make the commute back to Santa Rosa each weekend to spend time with their children Kaden, Taylor, Ayla, Grace, their dog Buttercup and their new puppy Tank. Our job is take the pressure off the family by helping to pay for the temporary housing (the have applied for the hospital's housing), the additional medications for David's new PICC line for his heart, the commutes from Stanford to Santa Rosa to be with their family and any additional medical expenses that they may encounter. With assistance comes reduced stress which can help David respond well to his treatments and enter remission. Once he is in remission for five years, he can be placed back onto the transplant list for a new heart.
Every dollar and prayer counts.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY TO THIS FAMILY. UPDATES WILL BE MADE REGULARLY AS TO DAVE'S PROGRESS.
THE BACK STORY
Five years ago David had, as so many of us do, a common cold. His cold spread to his heart which led to viral cardiomyopathy that resulted in a stroke and two heart attacks. He was 42 years old. An ICD pacemaker along with medication has allowed David to continue to live life and work 40 hour weeks for the past five years to support his family. Since the initial virus, a heart transplant has always been in the cards for David, but he has worked diligently to keep up good health to stave off the inevitable, as a transplant is generally good for about 13 years. As the inevitable became a reality this past October, David and Leigh Ann began a weekly 3 hour commute from their home in Santa Rosa to Stanford for the testing to place David on the transplant list. David's good general health and A+ blood type gave him the opportunity to possibly receive a new heart within three weeks but, they hit a snag.
THE SNAG!
During further routine testing for the transplant list, the doctors at Stanford noticed one of David's lymph nodes was enlarged. Testing revealed stage 2 metastatic squamous neck cancer with an unknown primary source. Now this might seem like a dead end to some and yes it took David, temporarily, off the transplant list, but the Stanford doctors have a plan and the TEAM has hope. With the plan in place, it is now time for the TEAM to inventory their resources. THIS IS WHERE WE COME IN.
THE GOAL
David and Leigh Ann need to move to Stanford for at least seven weeks for radiation treatments and chemotherapy for David's cancer. As you can well imagine this was not in their annual budget not to mention, David and Leigh Ann will most likely be missing Christmas with their children. On the bright side, they plan to make the commute back to Santa Rosa each weekend to spend time with their children Kaden, Taylor, Ayla, Grace, their dog Buttercup and their new puppy Tank. Our job is take the pressure off the family by helping to pay for the temporary housing (the have applied for the hospital's housing), the additional medications for David's new PICC line for his heart, the commutes from Stanford to Santa Rosa to be with their family and any additional medical expenses that they may encounter. With assistance comes reduced stress which can help David respond well to his treatments and enter remission. Once he is in remission for five years, he can be placed back onto the transplant list for a new heart.
Every dollar and prayer counts.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY TO THIS FAMILY. UPDATES WILL BE MADE REGULARLY AS TO DAVE'S PROGRESS.
Organizer
Nell Spillman-Sedlar
Organizer
Santa Rosa, CA