Esther Inbody Dawson

(A short five-minute read)

Hello, my name is Michael Dawson and I am fundraising so that I can be available to give my beloved wife of 21 years Esther Inbody Dawson the urgent care she needs to survive Multiple Sclerosis thru 2023. Esther, is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother and a friend who is a valued member of our family, church, neighborhood and community. I have never known a person who is more truly likable than my wife. Everyone who meets my wife, Esther, loves her. Esther is the most kind-hearted and sincere person I have ever known.

Olde Glory Days Clinton, Missouri 2014

Born in 1962 Esther is one of five brothers and sisters who grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. She came from a very noteworthy, highly educated and honorable, community-building family. Esther was raised in Overland Park and attended Shawnee Mission Schools. Many may recall Esther's father was a Principal in the Shawnee Mission School District. Shortly after high school, at Shawnee Mission West in 1983, Esther had her first child, a son, whom she raised physically and financially to adulthood. Esther raised him by herself as a single parent. Even in the 1980s as Esther suffered the first setbacks in her physical ability, the burden of being a single parent made her life a financially difficult challenge.

In 1988 Esther was initially diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and has spent most of her life working and dealing with the degenerative phases of MS. Esther qualified for actual disability from MS in 2009 due to cognitive decline and extreme physical limitations. She left behind a lifetime of working in the field of medical billing, including seven years working at Clinton Missouri's previous doctors' building, Wetzel Clinic. Since her diagnosis, Esther's health care, along with the rising cost of living, have been a burden on her mental well-being too. Keeping a shining star like Esther smiling, happy and healthy is my singular purpose anymore and is always my main focus in life. Those who know Esther and I know how much our love transcends even disabilities.

All proceeds from this GoFundMe will be used exclusively by me to insure Esther fully receives the full-time care, daily physical therapy, medical attention, transportation needs and financial security that she deserves in 2023.

Yellowstone 2012

A video of Esther singing like Julia Andrews around the time that she was diagnosed as disabled by MS. (circa 2009)

In 2001 Esther and I met. It was around the time her son was graduating from Shawnee Mission North High School. Later in 2001, Esther and I moved to Clinton, Missouri and were married, joining together the bond of a traditional family for us and all three of our sons. Esther dutifully took on the role of mom for my two sons from a previous marriage. I had custodial guardianship of my sons since 1992. In exchange, I became 'Dad' to Esther's son. In 2002, Esther gave birth making us the proud parents of our three sons plus one daughter. Finally, in 2005 Esther and I also took on legal guardianship of our youngest son's thirteen-year-old best friend, after his father had died. We raised him to adulthood also. This brings the total number of adult children that call Esther their mom and call me their dad to five. Our children live all over the United States now but remain very close. They stay in touch with each other as well as occasionally check in on us.

Our four sons and one daughter.

Briefly about me. Like Esther, I was also born in 1962. I also grew up in Overland Park and I also went to Shawnee Mission Schools. I have worked in many fields in my life. I have been a Class A Truck Driver; a Construction, Labor and Demolition Foreman; a Restaurant and Convenience Store Manager; plus a Fabrication and Machining Production Manager; just to name a few of my jobs. I worked hard and had never had any serious health issues in my life until, in 2010, I had a hiatal hernia from the job I was working at. Two surgeries and two years later a family decision was made for me to go back to college to become a secondary math teacher. Skip a decade to today and I have had 5 hernia surgeries between 2011 and 2018. Add to that I also had a pinched sciatic nerve in 2017 caused by a herniated disc in my lower back, common among truck drivers. This resulted in a discectomy surgery in 2017.

Michael Dawson 2015.

Despite all my surgeries, and being responsible for all of our household upkeep, in 2018 I finally earned my bachelor's degree and professional certification in Secondary Mathematics. I did so with a 3.5 GPA from Central Methodist University (CMU). In 2012 (pre-Covid) we all thought going back to college to become a secondary math teacher was a good idea. Now, five years later in 2023, I have my initial professional certification to teach math in Missouri but have yet to secure a teaching position with tenure.

I have spent two years teaching middle school math, however, I currently am merely a K-12 substitute teacher for our local school district. 2020/2021 was a good school year teaching, but mandatory masks that year coupled with the fact that teachers in my very rural school district disinfected everything multiple times daily made the difference. Our school district had some of the lowest communicable Covid rates in the state of Missouri that year. Since 2021, I have caught Covid twice. I had RSV back in November. I caught Influenza over Christmas, and I just got over Norovirus. Every one of those illnesses I got from one of my middle school students or as a substitute.

Esther campaigned for our local District Attorney in 2018.

Enough about me. Back to Esther. Multiple Sclerosis has been part of Esther's life for 35 years. 80% of people who have MS experience problems walking within 10 years of the onset of the disease. MS is a degenerative disease caused by an overactive immune system. The result is that her immune system attacks the natural systems in her body, especially the nervous system. She has no balancing mechanism left in her inner ear as the rest of us do.

The degenerative part of MS means that as she loses the ability to perform certain tasks, like driving, walking or even balancing, then these become lost abilities and are eventually gone forever. Esther still walks very short distances. We have downsized our lives and housing to a very small, 850 square foot, single-floor dwelling with only three steps up to enter or exit our residence.

Children love Esther's playful nature.

Esther is a very determined individual and refuses to give up walking short distances around our house. Ten years ago Esther could walk a city block before needing to sit down. Now she can walk about six feet. She does use her mobility scooter when we go out places. She has walkers, braces, crutches, wheelchairs and canes of every type. None of these walking aids give Esther the balance she needs to stand up and walk. She still frequently falls down and severally bruises herself when at home. She has a life alert device for these occasions. In 2019 Esther even broke her ankle falling down the three steps outside our front door. She has three screws in her ankle now. As scary as falling is, being a life-threatening hazard, there is one much more terrifying hazard for Esther, as well as for all MS patients.

Esther's broken ankle 2019

In the later stages of MS patients find eating and swallowing a dangerous task. Recently, for about the last six months, Esther has exhibited choking at least once a week while eating, usually two or three times per week. Patients are advised to not eat alone and to have someone watch over them while they eat. There is no provision for this full-time requirement in her health care. If I want Esther to survive this MS-related development I have to be that full-time person. I already do all the cooking and cleaning in the house. I also take care of Esther's daily hygiene, including bathing and diaper changes. So I have luckily been home to provide the sudden and terrifying life-saving acts as needed over these past few months.

Since this new development of swallowing became one of her disabilities symptoms, my grave concerns for my wife's well-being have sharply deepened. Esther's walking ability is kind of like an 18-month-old relearning how to walk daily with no balancing mechanism. Now imagine relearning how to swallow daily. Even on the days I substitute, I worry about what will likely happen while she is alone at home. She blacks out while choking and the life alert is not designed for that application. Esther's future critical life-saving care depends entirely on my full-time supervision.

On our downtown square Clinton, Missouri 2007.

The cost of my supporting Esther in life, after 35 years of MS, can only be measured in sacrifice and perseverance. Esther has reached a point in the progression of MS where-by she honestly needs a full-time caregiver. I have therefore set the goal for my fundraiser at a humbling $39,000 so that I may be home to provide my wife with the security to receive the most basic full-time care, from me, thru 2023.

Thanks Giving 2009.

Thank you for your interest in my wife and her struggles with MS. If you have any questions about my wife, my fundraiser or MS in general, please feel free to ask me. Also, feel free to share any tips, suggestions or recommendations you might have for my GoFundMe.

Chat with Esther on Facebook she loves being social.

Remember every donation helps no matter how small.