Help Dan and His Family

Written by my sister-in-law, Tascha Haas:

On 5/28, I brought Dan to the ER because he

suddenly began experiencing extreme

stomach pain. He was treated and discharged from the hospital with pain meds and

potassium supplements. By the time we got

home, he began feeling the pain again. He was able to rest at home, uncomfortably, until I

brought him back to the hospital on 5/30,

which was Memorial Day.

Upon arriving at the ER, Dan was rushed into a room and a team of doctors and nurses began immediately working on saving his life. I was

told that he was septic and that his transverse colon had died overnight as a result of a lack

of blood flow to the organ. He had an

emergency laparotomy and, by a miracle,

survived the surgery.

Dan rested in the hospital and was showing

daily improvements. We were taken by

surprised on 6/7 when Dan was rushed in for a second exploratory laparotomy after the team found dead tissue within his small intestine on a CT scan. I called a team meeting the

following day and requested for Dan to be

transferred to a Boston-area hospital because

it was clear that he needed a higher level of

care. Within hours, they found a bed and he

was accepted by a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, rated #5 in the country. Dan took an ambulance the same day and was

admitted to the surgical ICU.

On 6/8, we were told that feces were being

expelled through his NG tube and that he

would have to undergo a third surgery. This

time, the several MGH teams supporting Dan performed an angiogram to illuminate his

blood flow so that they would pinpoint which

arteries and blood vessels were compromised and were not adequately delivering blood to

his organs. A stent was put in so that blood

flow could be improved and the surgeons

were able to repair a previous dissection area.

Since, Dan has been working hard during his

recovery. Although he has physically been

through so much trauma, his spirit remains

strong and he was been focused on doing the work necessary to get home. He has been

walking laps around the unit multiple times a

day and volunteers to get out of bed to sit in

the recliner. He no longer is in the ICU and had his NG tube removed earlier today (which is a HUGE win for Dan).

Our guy has many months of recovery ahead

of him. It’s going to take our entire village to

help keep his spirits up while he remains

hospitalized and after he returns home. He

cares immensely for his friends and family, and he was sad when he told me he was feeling

overwhelmed by the outpouring of love. At this time, he struggles to talk on the phone and to text. For such a social guy, this is hard to

imagine! His mind is still trying to grapple with what has happened to him over the last 2 1/2 weeks.

I personally want to thank every person who

has visited at the hospital, called, texted, send cards, made meals, called to check in on me and our kids, sent gifts, mailed gift cards, and

sat with me in my kitchen.