GoFundMe - Ernie "The Barbarian" Gygax Needs Aid

 Without further commentary:

Dave Conant is organizing this fundraiser.

We have a friend in need...can you help?

Ernie “The Barbarian” Gygax has been in many D&D battles in his life being the eldest son of the co-creator of the D&D game. Now, he is in a fight for his very life – in fact, he has been in-and-out of hospitals and in-and-out of critical condition over the last few months. He even died for several minutes this past week, but was able to be revived. I won't go into many details, but he has a heart defect that results in not enough blood being pumped through his body and, more importantly, not delivered to vital organs...like the kidney. That means, in addition to heart issues, he is also needing dialysis to help the kidney to do it's job. Like any barbarian though, he keeps fighting – winning each individual battle so far, but he's getting wary and frustrated by his body's growing weaknesses.

The initial reason for this fundraising campaign is to help Ernie and Donna with the medical bills that are already mounting AND to help cover some of the hotel expenses for Donna (Ernie's significant other, soulmate, and Health Care POA), while she stays by Ernie's side every day at the hospital helping him through this and making some VERY difficult medical decisions along the way. Going forward with the time he has left, even accounting for the best possible situation, Ernie will need to follow strict guidelines and be severely limited in his activities...but HOPES that he and Donna can once again offer a place at their home in Lake Geneva for gamers to stop by and roll some dice.

Did you know that:

• The cost for an Air Ambulance (Life Flight) is between $12,000 - $25,000 (used twice),
• Average Ambulance transport in Wisconsin is $1,200 (used twice)
• Average for 1 Day in ICU/Critical Care: Numbers vary widely depending on how sick you are, but an average of $8,000-10,000 is typical – more the first few days and a little less beyond that (More than 10 WEEKS in 4 different hospitals.),
• Average for 1 Day of regular hospital care for heart issue patients is $4,000 (Used 15-20 days),
• Most insurance plans only pay up to 80% of those costs (if they pay them at all)

Today Ernie is fighting for his life...tomorrow they'll both be fighting to dig out from the pile of bills – even with insurance picking up a good portion of that tab. He has used all of those expensive services multiple times during his struggle over the last few months plus many doctor visits for months before that as he began feeling the affects of his body's weakening. Between the various ambulance services, hospitals, numerous doctors, procedures, medications and services provided, they'll be getting bills for many months.

Please lend your aide and contribute what you're able to help a gaming community friend in need.

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