***UPDATE 8/19/24***

Podcast episode from Dick post-surgery!!

"Sarah and I would like to thank everyone for your support and incredible generosity. I still get emotional when I think of all the people reaching out and donating. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the future but because of your generosity we can focus on an organic recovery at the pace that feels most appropriate. Thank you for helping us buy some time for this. You are all in our hearts and we look forward to seeing you in wild places again soon. Dick and Sarah"

Friends - as you probably know, Dick has been battling a significant brain tumor since January 2024.

He's just out of what looks to be a successful surgery (August 14th!) and is starting the road to recovery. This was a huge positive step forward, but there are still many unknowns ahead...

With Dick being out of work for the last 9 months and the future still being so unclear I know he and Sarah could use all the help we are able to give. Your donation will help offset the decreased income and increased costs and stress associated with all that's been going on this year.

Thank you for your generosity and love for our dear friend and colleague!

~ Silas

The Details:

In January 2024 Dick became ill and experienced a sudden onset of complete hearing loss in his right ear and profound disequilibrium. The balance issues forced him to cancel all of his winter work. After a series of tests and treatments (including steroid injections directly through his ear drum!) an MRI revealed a rare and typically benign tumor growing on the 8th cranial nerve behind his right ear—an acoustic neuroma (also known as a vestibular schwannoma).

This type of tumor grows around the lining that encases the vestibular nerve (one of the nerves in the 8th cranial nerve bundle) and was the likely cause of the disequilibrium as well as the hearing loss (the auditory nerve lies right next to the vestibular nerve).

Doctors predicted that the hearing loss would be permanent and that balance issues might eventually be compensated for (by all the other inputs—visual, left ear vestibular nerve and body-wide proprioception system) though unlikely to the level of being able to work as a climbing/mountain guide. They also recommended removing the tumor, because, though benign and slow growing, it also threatened the facial nerve, which travels through the same channel through the skull and controls the movement of the right side of the face.

Dick had this surgery (an 8+ hour procedure at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital in Boston, with some of the best surgeons in the country) on August 14. They have stressed that the outcome will likely be positive but that restoration of balance is hard to predict and always takes a long time, and that his hearing loss will be permanent (though they were unexpectedly able to preserve the auditory nerve so there is a possibility that he could try a cochlear implant in the future).

Dick has not worked since January and has been using his savings for his personal expenses and household responsibilities. This strategy has worked well enough for over 7 months but is no longer sustainable, particularly with the medical expenses incurred with the surgery and 2-4 day hospital stay post-op (he does have health insurance through his wife’s policy but even with this there are copays, coinsurance and ancillary costs of travel, etc).

He has applied for disability but processing that application takes many many months (when they say you should have three months of salary set aside for emergencies they really should say have 12 months of salary set aside in case you become unable to do your job). If you know Dick you know that guiding and guide training are Dick’s passions; so many clients and young guides have benefited from his insight and experience.

He is now in the post-op recovery period and while he is contemplating the next phase of his professional life, it is unlikely he’ll be able to work in any capacity for a while.