Pianist David Finney Regains Ability to Play Piano
Donation protected
David is a master pianist and was an accompanist at Trevecca University for 14 years. For the past 12 years, David has been battling pain and inflammation in his joints, muscle deterioration, and loss of most of his vision. Despite some doctors’ visits and tests, David has never found any concrete answers nor received a diagnosis to explain what is going on. Through the progression of his illness, he always pushed forward and carried on, doing the work he loves.
Three months ago, David had a sudden and rapid decline in his condition, and in early November 2020, David went through with the difficult decision of surrendering his duties at Trevecca University and he can no longer work at this time. He is legally blind and there are now days he cannot walk at all. He has currently lost the ability to play the piano.
How Can You Help?
We will not stop until David gets the medical care he needs and answers about his condition. David recently started seeing a highly recommended neurologist and is on the path to understanding what is attacking his body and how he can heal. With the best insurance plan he could get, David’s monthly insurance premiums and deductible total $13,000 for this year. Once his deductible is met, 50% of his bills will be covered. We are supporting David in applying for disability, but he is likely facing a 1-2 year waiting period before he is approved.
With all of the current and future tests, procedures, and doctor’s visits, and the additional support he may need given his current disabilities, we estimate David will need $20,000 to cover his costs for this year. Any additional funds we receive will be used toward his ongoing medical expenses and care.
Any and all support you can offer is greatly appreciated.
We love our brother dearly and our #1 goal is to ensure that David receives the answers, care, and healing he needs to get better, no matter the cost. We pray that he can gain physical comfort and strength and get back to gracing the world with what he loves most.
A note to those of you who know and care about David - The best way to send messages to him at this time is through this site. We will make sure David receives any messages posted here.
If you would like to learn more about David, keep scrolling after the picture below. We have additional information about who David is and the illness he faces.
THANK YOU for your generosity and support for our amazing brother.
The sisters of David Finney
Robin, Lisa, and Ginger
Update on David's Health: 8/27/21
David has seen many specialists and has been seeing a functional doctor, a hematologist, a rheumatologist, and a retina specialist. The functional doctor has been providing him with detox protocols and has been working to strengthen, and build him up. The rheumatologist diagnosed him with late-onset juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis. He put David on Humira, which is injected every two weeks. Fortunately, his insurance has agreed to cover the cost of this expensive medication. So far, he seems to be responding well to everything that’s being done for him. He has gotten stronger to where he can get around with a cane, although slowly, and he has been able to gain some weight. He still has no vision. The retina specialist has had him on steroid drops with the goal of bringing the inflammation down in his eyes enough to where he can have cataract surgery. He will be seeing the retina doctor the last week of August and is scheduled for an evaluation by the eye surgeon in early September. It’s our hope and prayer that he will be able to get some vision back. The rheumatologist thinks he may have some permanent damage to his left wrist. He’s unable to fully stretch open that hand, which is why he’s still unable to reach an octave on the piano. Despite his inability to see, and the limitations with his left hand, he has been sitting at the piano playing music from memory and creating his own music. Everything he’s been playing sounds beautiful. It’s therapeutic for him to play, given his love of music. He is so appreciative of the support he has gotten from all of you which has meant so much. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Meet David
David was born in the early ’80s. It has always been the case that when David develops an interest, he learns everything he can and becomes an expert.
First, it was cars. We were astounded at all he knew about cars at a very young age. As with all of his interests, he always has an appreciation for the best – in this case, he was obsessed with Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Maseratis.
Then came music. When David was 11 years old, he taught himself to sight-read sheet music, play classical piano, and at the age of 13 had composed his first mazurka (a Polish musical form based on stylized folk dances in triple meter). He was a musical prodigy.
In Jr. High, David’s band teacher recognized his gift needed to be cultivated and urged our parents to send him to Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. David was accepted into their program and proceeded to learn piano at Blair from the age of 13 through high school.
And there was basketball. David followed the greats such as Kobe Bryant and knew all of their statistics by heart. He played on his own and would spend hours dribbling and shooting, working on his own layups and slam dunks (even though he was a foot shorter than the professional players he studied and looked up to).
Through it all, David always had a great love of God and Bible study in all forms. He has been avid in his own personal study and has led countless Bible studies, and preached many sermons. He has always shown wisdom and insight beyond his years.
David’s Work and Contribution
David contributed his time for many, many years accompanying choral rehearsals and concerts at our alma mater Dickson County High School.
He performed his own concerts, where he always chose to play challenging pieces that he executed flawlessly.
For 14 years David worked as an accompanist at Trevecca University where he mentored countless students and supported them in bringing their musical gifts to life. He spent long days doing what he loves most.
More About the Illness
At age 27, David began having pain and inflammation in his joints. It came out of nowhere and made little sense for someone of his age.
If you knew David, you likely wouldn't have known anything was wrong. He still had his signature humor and wit in every situation even as he was silently in pain. To this day he makes people, especially his nieces, nephew and children at church, laugh. You would never hear him complain and he continued serving others day in and day out.
One of the very first places the effects of David’s illness became apparent was when he could no longer run and jump for slam dunks, then no longer shoot hoops, and ultimately had to stop playing altogether.
As the years went by, David's body began to show more physical signs of his illness and he moved at a slower pace and lost weight. David pushed through all of the pain and physical symptoms while doing what he could to take care of his health, but despite some doctors’ visits and tests he never found any concrete answers or got a diagnosis to explain what was going on.
Life went on.
Over 12 years, David’s eyesight slowly began to deteriorate and his movements got slower and more painful, until he could no longer drive and had to take the bus to work each day. He has always pushed forward year after year accompanying, studying, serving.
Three months ago, David had a sudden and rapid decline in his condition. He lost more weight, his eyesight further deteriorated to the point he could hardly see, and his ability to walk became worse.
In early November 2020, David went through with the difficult decision of surrendering his duties at Trevecca as he could no longer climb onto the bus. Currently, there are days he cannot walk at all and other days he can only walk with great effort. With the deterioration of his muscles and worsening of pain in his joints he has lost the ability to play the piano.
More of David’s Work:
David played the following recital in September of 2019. David learned this complex work while being legally blind which was a major undertaking and labor of love. https://youtu.be/EOo2089jp_Q?t=745
The following was a different Concert where David played Busoni Carmen in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZSPRt8ImII
Here is an interview conducted with David by a Trevecca student in 2016 where he shares about his condition and you see him doing what he loves with the music students at Trevecca. https://youtu.be/ZSTUtzP7d68
Three months ago, David had a sudden and rapid decline in his condition, and in early November 2020, David went through with the difficult decision of surrendering his duties at Trevecca University and he can no longer work at this time. He is legally blind and there are now days he cannot walk at all. He has currently lost the ability to play the piano.
How Can You Help?
We will not stop until David gets the medical care he needs and answers about his condition. David recently started seeing a highly recommended neurologist and is on the path to understanding what is attacking his body and how he can heal. With the best insurance plan he could get, David’s monthly insurance premiums and deductible total $13,000 for this year. Once his deductible is met, 50% of his bills will be covered. We are supporting David in applying for disability, but he is likely facing a 1-2 year waiting period before he is approved.
With all of the current and future tests, procedures, and doctor’s visits, and the additional support he may need given his current disabilities, we estimate David will need $20,000 to cover his costs for this year. Any additional funds we receive will be used toward his ongoing medical expenses and care.
Any and all support you can offer is greatly appreciated.
We love our brother dearly and our #1 goal is to ensure that David receives the answers, care, and healing he needs to get better, no matter the cost. We pray that he can gain physical comfort and strength and get back to gracing the world with what he loves most.
A note to those of you who know and care about David - The best way to send messages to him at this time is through this site. We will make sure David receives any messages posted here.
If you would like to learn more about David, keep scrolling after the picture below. We have additional information about who David is and the illness he faces.
THANK YOU for your generosity and support for our amazing brother.
The sisters of David Finney
Robin, Lisa, and Ginger
Update on David's Health: 8/27/21
David has seen many specialists and has been seeing a functional doctor, a hematologist, a rheumatologist, and a retina specialist. The functional doctor has been providing him with detox protocols and has been working to strengthen, and build him up. The rheumatologist diagnosed him with late-onset juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis. He put David on Humira, which is injected every two weeks. Fortunately, his insurance has agreed to cover the cost of this expensive medication. So far, he seems to be responding well to everything that’s being done for him. He has gotten stronger to where he can get around with a cane, although slowly, and he has been able to gain some weight. He still has no vision. The retina specialist has had him on steroid drops with the goal of bringing the inflammation down in his eyes enough to where he can have cataract surgery. He will be seeing the retina doctor the last week of August and is scheduled for an evaluation by the eye surgeon in early September. It’s our hope and prayer that he will be able to get some vision back. The rheumatologist thinks he may have some permanent damage to his left wrist. He’s unable to fully stretch open that hand, which is why he’s still unable to reach an octave on the piano. Despite his inability to see, and the limitations with his left hand, he has been sitting at the piano playing music from memory and creating his own music. Everything he’s been playing sounds beautiful. It’s therapeutic for him to play, given his love of music. He is so appreciative of the support he has gotten from all of you which has meant so much. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Meet David
David was born in the early ’80s. It has always been the case that when David develops an interest, he learns everything he can and becomes an expert.
First, it was cars. We were astounded at all he knew about cars at a very young age. As with all of his interests, he always has an appreciation for the best – in this case, he was obsessed with Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Maseratis.
Then came music. When David was 11 years old, he taught himself to sight-read sheet music, play classical piano, and at the age of 13 had composed his first mazurka (a Polish musical form based on stylized folk dances in triple meter). He was a musical prodigy.
In Jr. High, David’s band teacher recognized his gift needed to be cultivated and urged our parents to send him to Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. David was accepted into their program and proceeded to learn piano at Blair from the age of 13 through high school.
And there was basketball. David followed the greats such as Kobe Bryant and knew all of their statistics by heart. He played on his own and would spend hours dribbling and shooting, working on his own layups and slam dunks (even though he was a foot shorter than the professional players he studied and looked up to).
Through it all, David always had a great love of God and Bible study in all forms. He has been avid in his own personal study and has led countless Bible studies, and preached many sermons. He has always shown wisdom and insight beyond his years.
David’s Work and Contribution
David contributed his time for many, many years accompanying choral rehearsals and concerts at our alma mater Dickson County High School.
He performed his own concerts, where he always chose to play challenging pieces that he executed flawlessly.
For 14 years David worked as an accompanist at Trevecca University where he mentored countless students and supported them in bringing their musical gifts to life. He spent long days doing what he loves most.
More About the Illness
At age 27, David began having pain and inflammation in his joints. It came out of nowhere and made little sense for someone of his age.
If you knew David, you likely wouldn't have known anything was wrong. He still had his signature humor and wit in every situation even as he was silently in pain. To this day he makes people, especially his nieces, nephew and children at church, laugh. You would never hear him complain and he continued serving others day in and day out.
One of the very first places the effects of David’s illness became apparent was when he could no longer run and jump for slam dunks, then no longer shoot hoops, and ultimately had to stop playing altogether.
As the years went by, David's body began to show more physical signs of his illness and he moved at a slower pace and lost weight. David pushed through all of the pain and physical symptoms while doing what he could to take care of his health, but despite some doctors’ visits and tests he never found any concrete answers or got a diagnosis to explain what was going on.
Life went on.
Over 12 years, David’s eyesight slowly began to deteriorate and his movements got slower and more painful, until he could no longer drive and had to take the bus to work each day. He has always pushed forward year after year accompanying, studying, serving.
Three months ago, David had a sudden and rapid decline in his condition. He lost more weight, his eyesight further deteriorated to the point he could hardly see, and his ability to walk became worse.
In early November 2020, David went through with the difficult decision of surrendering his duties at Trevecca as he could no longer climb onto the bus. Currently, there are days he cannot walk at all and other days he can only walk with great effort. With the deterioration of his muscles and worsening of pain in his joints he has lost the ability to play the piano.
More of David’s Work:
David played the following recital in September of 2019. David learned this complex work while being legally blind which was a major undertaking and labor of love. https://youtu.be/EOo2089jp_Q?t=745
The following was a different Concert where David played Busoni Carmen in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZSPRt8ImII
Here is an interview conducted with David by a Trevecca student in 2016 where he shares about his condition and you see him doing what he loves with the music students at Trevecca. https://youtu.be/ZSTUtzP7d68
Organizer and beneficiary
Robin Finney
Organizer
Dallas, TX
David Finney
Beneficiary