On Thursday, November 17, David fell ill in a way he hadn’t experienced before. Believing his pain to be something like a pinched nerve, he attempted to “walk it off” and waited a few days to see if his pain would subside, as his other perturbing symptoms often would.

On Tuesday, Nov 22, when he failed to be able to make it through a day’s work, he agreed to get checked out.

At the ER, they learned that he had suffered an aortic dissection and had a leaking aorta valve, and they immediately air-lifted him to Detroit from Northern Michigan, for emergency open-heart surgery. During his surgery, they were able to replace the torn artery. He also had a mechanical heart valve installed.

The symptoms and diagnosis were a complete surprise to David and his family. What they thought was as simple as some rest and exercise have turned into a life-changing ordeal with a long road to recovery ahead. David will likely be out of work for at least a few months, and being downstate, this will likely cause considerable disruption to Amanda's job as well.

If you would like to donate to support David’s recovery and transition to life as a bionic human, The Crambell Family greatly thanks you in advance.