The Darby Pool Fund

Dear friends, family and community,

My name is Sara Pool. I am reaching out today to ask for your support on behalf of my dad, Darby Pool, and the rest of our family. Darby is a loving husband to Alaysha and devoted father to Sara, Fenix and Ella, and has recently been diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer.

In April, Darby discovered a lump on his neck and immediately sought medical attention. The doctor was very concerned and sent him to a specialist to perform a biopsy. Two weeks later, our family received the nerve-racking news…the word you hope to never have to say, cancer. The biopsy and resulting examination found cancer in three parts of his throat, mostly in the lymph nodes and tonsils. Fortunately, we are blessed to be so close to an excellent hospital with incredible technology to help my dad beat his diagnosis.

The treatment will be lengthy. He will endure radiation treatments 5 days a week and one full day of chemotherapy weekly for 7 weeks. This will leave him very fatigued and develop very painful mouth sores that will make eating his favorite snacks and foods painful. As a family, we will be arranging our daily lives to help transport my dad to and from his appointments in Kansas City and help take care of him during the recovery period.

I am creating this fundraiser because we have so many wonderful and selfless people in our community that have asked how they can help our family. As you all know, my dad would give his shirt off his back to every one of us… and he would never ask for help. My dad is very proud and has always done whatever it takes to provide for his family. While he is in treatment he will be unable to run the shop every day and work on repairs. The medical bills are high and although they do have health insurance it still leaves a considerable amount of out-of-pocket expenses due to deductibles and copays that will need to be paid. Darby and Alaysha deserve to feel at ease during this time and concentrate on keeping Darby comfortable and healthy. I strongly believe as a community we can come together to relieve this stress on them.

Darby is the owner of Bikes for the Likes of Us in Olathe, KS. We would like to share our gratitude for everyone's love and support, especially to the staff that will help run the shop in my dad's absence. The love and support we have already received has been overwhelming and greatly appreciated.

If you would like to assist with the financial burden caused by the medical bills that are already coming in, any donation will be greatly appreciated. All funds raised will go directly to the medical costs and related travel expenses for Darby and our family. If you cannot donate, we would love to ask for your support by sharing our fundraiser on your social media platforms or by word of mouth. We know Darby has made a huge impact on our family, the community, the BMX team and track, and the bike shop community itself.

Thank you.