On August 9th, Dusty, a devoted father, husband, and music teacher, suffered a sudden and mysterious emergency that has been diagnosed broadly as Encephalopathy. He has gone from being intubated because he couldn’t breathe on his own to catatonia to re-learning how to talk, eat, and walk again.  He’s currently unable to care for himself but is making progress and determined to recover. While his family (an amazing wife and two children, almost 1 year and 4 years old) is his top priority, his teaching is close second: one of his first communication attempts was asking to be able to prepare for the new school year (before he could even stand on his own)!

Dusty spent five days in ICU, another four in IMCU, and had recently been discharged home to start intensive, out-patient OT and PT. He still requires supervision and care 24/7. His recovery is both intense and expensive. 

He’s in process with leave support, and it’s unclear how long it will take to return to work.  Especially during this time when they have neither paid leave or income (and Karissa is missing work to help take care of him), his family also needs support with bills, groceries, rent, etc. 

Thank you for anything you can give to help support Dusty and his family so that he can focus on what matters most to him: his return to his family and his teaching.  Please know that any amount helps ❤️