Loren Dils Medical Fund
Donation protected
My twin brother, Loren Dils, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gherig's disease) over 10 years ago at the age of 41. ALS is a cruel disease that robs your nervous system of the ability to communicate with your muscles, so patients slowly lose the ability to walk, talk, eat and even breathe. This awful disease is usually terminal within 3 to 5 years. We feel so blessed to still have Loren with us fighting this disease today. About 7 years ago, Loren began needing the assistance of caregivers to accomplish daily living tasks. Over 5 years ago that need increased to relying on their help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He has been confined to a power wheelchair for over 5 years and has logged more than 3000 miles on it in that time! Three years ago, Loren lost the ability to breathe on his own so now he relies on a ventilator to do that for him.
Even with ALS, Loren continues to be very active in the Albuquerque community and largely active in the tennis community. He was an elite collegiate tennis player and later a college coach at the University of New Mexico. Even with his challenges Loren still coaches tennis for Jefferson Middle School during the school year and Junior Team Tennis in the summer. He was recently recognized by the USTA Southwest Section for his dedication to tennis in the face of adversity and also appears in the 2017 Hero's Editions of Tennis Magazine.
Loren has two young sons, Tanner and Connor, and he continues to be a dedicated and loving father to them. Connor was only 1 year old and Tanner only 3 years old at the time of his diagnosis with ALS. Both boys play tennis for their father's tennis teams and are excelling in their academic progress.
While Loren does have medical insurance it does not cover the vast majority of the costs associated with ALS. Insurance mostly helps cover the costs of expensive medication and equipment, but does almost nothing for the cost of caregivers. Most ALS patients incur over $250,000 in medical care expenses per year. Pete Frates, who started the viral "Ice Bucket" challenge to raise ALS awareness currently spends $90,000 a month on his care.
With the help of his family and friends we have been able to keep Loren's unreimbursed costs down to $175,000 a year. A portion of this money goes towards medication and medical equipment not covered completely by insurance. The vast majority, though, goes towards caregivers that provide round the clock care and, as I mentioned before, insurance does very little to cover the cost associated with caregivers. While family members do help with his care, the amount needed exceeds our ability to continue to provide him with this level and quality of care. ALS is a very cruel disease in many ways.
Over the course of these past 10 years our father has been able to cover these extra expenses. In fact, he has spent well over 1 million dollars over this time. Unfortunately, his monetary reserves are almost depleted. He will only be able to cover Loren's medical costs for a few more months. This is why I have started this GoFundMe fundraising campaign.
Loren is still very active in our community and a great father to his sons. We are lucky and blessed to continue to have him around fighting this disease after 10 years. We want him to be able to continue to fight ALS and participate in our community for as long as he can, but we need your help now! Without additonal funds we will no longer be able to provide him with the care he needs.
Please help if you can. You can also contact me by email if you like. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you!
Alan Dils
Even with ALS, Loren continues to be very active in the Albuquerque community and largely active in the tennis community. He was an elite collegiate tennis player and later a college coach at the University of New Mexico. Even with his challenges Loren still coaches tennis for Jefferson Middle School during the school year and Junior Team Tennis in the summer. He was recently recognized by the USTA Southwest Section for his dedication to tennis in the face of adversity and also appears in the 2017 Hero's Editions of Tennis Magazine.
Loren has two young sons, Tanner and Connor, and he continues to be a dedicated and loving father to them. Connor was only 1 year old and Tanner only 3 years old at the time of his diagnosis with ALS. Both boys play tennis for their father's tennis teams and are excelling in their academic progress.
While Loren does have medical insurance it does not cover the vast majority of the costs associated with ALS. Insurance mostly helps cover the costs of expensive medication and equipment, but does almost nothing for the cost of caregivers. Most ALS patients incur over $250,000 in medical care expenses per year. Pete Frates, who started the viral "Ice Bucket" challenge to raise ALS awareness currently spends $90,000 a month on his care.
With the help of his family and friends we have been able to keep Loren's unreimbursed costs down to $175,000 a year. A portion of this money goes towards medication and medical equipment not covered completely by insurance. The vast majority, though, goes towards caregivers that provide round the clock care and, as I mentioned before, insurance does very little to cover the cost associated with caregivers. While family members do help with his care, the amount needed exceeds our ability to continue to provide him with this level and quality of care. ALS is a very cruel disease in many ways.
Over the course of these past 10 years our father has been able to cover these extra expenses. In fact, he has spent well over 1 million dollars over this time. Unfortunately, his monetary reserves are almost depleted. He will only be able to cover Loren's medical costs for a few more months. This is why I have started this GoFundMe fundraising campaign.
Loren is still very active in our community and a great father to his sons. We are lucky and blessed to continue to have him around fighting this disease after 10 years. We want him to be able to continue to fight ALS and participate in our community for as long as he can, but we need your help now! Without additonal funds we will no longer be able to provide him with the care he needs.
Please help if you can. You can also contact me by email if you like. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you!
Alan Dils
Organizer
Alan Dils
Organizer
Albuquerque, NM