I am sure our local has been pulling all the nescessary cards to help him. Dale was refused any disability on his pension from the pension board. They said since he did lawn work and used chemicals that could be the cause of his lung issues. After the surgery he was doing very well, better than anyone thought he would. The issue of his lungs refusing his body is a fairly recent development. Dale is still covered under the same health care package all active members are. This is in place until age 65. The part that sickens me is that the Mayors office and Coventry Insurance are refusing to cover the bone marrow transplant since it is "experimental".
As I posted earlier we had a fundraiser late last year and thru contributions from other Omaha firefighters and ALOT of community support roughly $150,000 was raised. That money was to help support the family so they could spend as much time with Dale as possible. I am not sure how much is left or if we need to do another fundraiser for them. Time is of the essence as Dale is not doing very well. How the Mayor and Coventry can call a bone marrow transplant "experimental" baffles me and they have basically said his life is not worth the money to do the surgery. I am hopeful that with some "pressure" (for lack of better wording) they will do the right thing here, cover the surgery and give Dale some more time. If you do not want to call there is also a link on the city site to email the Mayor.
Please help spread the word on the horrible actions that are happening. I would appreciate it. I guess in a small way I feel I am helping this great man and giving back a small portion of what he has done for me.
Thank you.