Help This Father and Filmmaker Fight For His Life

*** STRETCH GOAL UPDATE***

We did it! Thank you so much for your generosity! Dan has gotten his tickets to Germany for next week! He will be there for a week for the testing with his wife Caroline as his caregiver. If they decide to do surgery in Germany, it could be up to 4-6 weeks of recovery in Germany before beginning his rehab for the next several months in Utah. We’ve heard from other patients and families that it can cost around $40,000-$50,000 for the surgery alone (not including travel) which was the purpose of this fundraiser and we were able to meet that need! Thank you! This can literally be life changing for Dan! 


If Dan decides to return to the states for surgery after the testing in Germany, the surgery would likely take place in Utah or Texas and the recovery time and rehab would be similar. In either scenario he will be missing several weeks to a few months of work and his ability to provide for his family. 


In all of these scenarios the Davis family would also need childcare covered for an extended period of time (as Dan needs his wife as his caregiver while away).


We are recommending Dan hire a medical advocate as soon as possible that can manage his appointments with doctors and surgeons, therapy, testing, procedures, labs, research, insurance, and transportation to and from appointments. Right now all of this health management falls on him, has been a huge burden, and is a part-time job that distracts from healing and also providing for his family through his business.


Lastly, Dan is also in need of nutrition-dense meals regularly guided and monitored by a nutritionist and/or dietician for an extended period of time to maintain weight as a prerequisite for surgery and successful rehab and recovery

So, we'd like to keep the campaign active and see if we can raise another $15-$20k to help Dan with childcare expenses, meals and some medical advocacy. Thank you to everyone who has donated! Please don't stop sharing with friends and family. 


*** Original Post: ****

Dan has always been one of those guys that I looked up to and wanted to be like. Watching him fight right now for his health, his life and his family is inspiring.

 

I’ve known Dan for over 25 years and my fondest memory was watching him play basketball. Dan was the kind of person who never gave up and he could take over a game in seconds. We’re both entrepreneurs and I remember grabbing lunch with Dan when he was first starting Stiry, he told me about this idea of a platform that would share the amazing stories in the world and share the good that was happening.

 

5 years and 250 stories later, he's taught us that none of us know when life is going to present challenges and we should never have to go it alone. Dan has been telling our stories. He’s been there with us during the bad and the good, it’s time for us to step in and tell his story. #DanStrong

 

Dan’s battle started several years ago with chronic pain and severe health challenges that he rarely shared with anyone. As his health deteriorated and his doctors discovered numerous issues he started opening up to his friends and family. Dan suffers from a rare disease, he has multiple vascular compression syndromes that limits blood flow to vital organs and limbs. His veins literally collapse on themselves, leaving him in unbearable pain. He also has an Adrenal Tumor further complicating the issue. This life threatening condition makes it practically impossible for Dan to work, help around the home or play with his children. Dan can no longer stand or walk so he spends the majority of his day lying down. The pain is so mentally and physically excruciating, he often wonders how much more he can take, but Dan is a fighter.

 

Dan’s disease is rare so the treatment he requires is not readily accessible. He needs help traveling to Germany for testing and possible life saving operation, a kidney auto-transplant, medications and specialized physical therapy. The healthcare in Germany, specialized physical therapy and many of the medications are not covered by insurance.

 

Dan is an entrepreneur and depends on his business income to provide for his family of four young kids. The process of discovery, diagnosis, and treatment of these significant health issues has been a serious time investment that has taken away from his ability to run his business full-time and his wife has to travel with him to procedures and appointments and will need to travel with him to Germany,childcare and home related expenses and long-term solution for nutrition rich pre-made meals for the foreseeable/unforeseeable future.

 

Dan helps tell the hard stories. Whether it’s a story of a child’s debilitating disease or capturing a mothers losing battle with cancer, Dan has turned these sad stories into messages of inspiration and hope.

 

Let’s show our love and support by telling Dan’s story! Your donation can help change the outcome and can help Dan get up on his feet playing with his kids again.

@stirydan