Hi all! I'm Dave, and a lot of you know me through the local hospital. I am a 58-year-old who's had Type 1 diabetes for 52 years. In recent years, that diabetes has worn me down pretty good. I had heart bypass surgery in 2018, and that killed my kidneys. I began dialysis in July of 2025 while working full-time, and beginning this November, I start home dialysis so I can continue to work. I am out of time off, so won't be getting paid for the time off I'm about to take to get trained in using the home dialysis equipment. I'm reaching out to see if there's any help out there, in lieu of PTO, to hold us over for a few weeks until I am back on my feet again. I do not want to go on disability just yet. I have a few more years of work in me and I would like to continue doing the work at the hospital.

Your donation is going to help with lodging, food, fuel and medication while were away from home. We live 3 hours south of Anchorage, so a daily commute is out of the question.

Many of you know that I have a hard time asking for help, and this isn't easy for me. I would give the shirt off my back to anyone out there if I needed to, and many folks who know me know I would do that.

My wife and I are deeply involved with the American Red Cross here in Alaska, and despite my just having dialysis surgery, we still offered our help to those in need on the west coast while in Anchorage.

I love you all and I look forward to seeing you again real soon, both at work and out in the real world.