Love, Support, and Financial Assistance for Dennis Gray, Sr.

A message from the children of Uncle Dennis Gray, Sr.:

”As many of you are aware, our father, Dennis Gray, Sr. had to undergo an emergency corrective surgery at the end of the Gold Medal tournament in Juneau. This closely followed a scheduled follow-up surgery after his medical scare late last fall in Hoonah. Although his initial med-evac was covered by SEARHC when weather didn’t permit flying to Sitka, our father elected to continue seeing the same private doctor in Juneau whose level of expertise, he considered critical to his particular case and care. I think we all can agree that being closer to home was also instrumental in his healing and well-being. This meant that while his check-ups and subsequent surgeries in Juneau were covered by Medicaid, his travel and room and board expenses for he and his medical escort (our brother Howard) were paid out of his own pocket. Our brother Howard has been with my dad for the entire duration of our father’s medical treatment and his constant care at home and during these strained times, is commendable and so appreciated. Of course, no one planned for this last surgery but we are ever grateful that he was where he was at the time and that Howard was there too. As an elder, our father is on a small fixed-income and this last surgery requires him to stay in Juneau until April 24th for specialized wound care. Currently, he is getting stronger and according to the doctor, healing very well. After exhaustive attempts with SEARHC and Medicaid to find assistance with his stay, despite representatives and staff being very helpful and empathetic, we felt reaching out to family for support was the next step. This GoFundMe for now is private and the link can be circulated amongst family and close friends. It is also meant to be a good way to centrally accept and get our father the donations as quickly and easily as possible. Thank you all for the continued prayers and messages of love and support.”