That’s It Cancer, Let’s Take This Outside
#SMILE4DAN Charity Pop-Up Workout
Sunday, July 22nd at 9am (Rain or Shine)
Pittsfield Township Park (Next to Ann Arbor Airport)
Details
Donate to our cause and join us just down the street from Applied Fitness Solutions Ann Arbor! We’ll be running a 1 hour outdoor circuit training workout featuring a cast of instructors you WON’T want to miss. Jared, Devin, Jen, Mike Stack, and more will be on hand to entertain and motivate you through the entire experience. We’ll have music, modifications for all levels, and enough motivation to fill the big house!
Oops! We could not locate your form.
Story
On Thanksgiving Day 2017 Dan, his wife Melissa, and their three young children; Emmit (6), Lileigh (6), and Colton (3) had their lives turned upside down.
Â
2 days earlier, Dan went to his family doctor with abdominal discomfort and they sent him home with a prescription, but hours later he ended up back in the ER with excruciating pain. This time the doctors took a closer look and they found more than anyone could imagine. At the age of only 42 Dan has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer.
Â
For those of you that know Dan I apologize in advance, my description of who he is will probably fall short of describing this special man… some humans are hard to find words for. They are good deeds, selfless acts, palpable joy, hard honest work, a welcoming smile, and an easy conversation. Their presence brings an indescribable feeling to those they love. Dan is all of these things and more.
Â
This fight not only places an immense emotional cost on the family but also a financial burden that no one fighting for their life should bear alone. Treatment for this aggressive form of cancer will leave Dan unable to work and Melissa currently raises their three young children while doing some book-keeping at home. The cost of cancer treatment is immense and will be impossible to pay with their reduced income. We’ve already set up a YouCaring page to rally support and have joined together to fight this battle alongside the Smith family raising over $22,000 in the last 7months. This is our latest effort to keep Dan in your thoughts and prayers and to continue providing support to this family we love.
Â
Treatment thus far has been grueling, but despite all that’s transpired, Dan remains resilient and optimistic (as he is with all aspects of life). With his first go-round with chemo and radiation behind him, Dan now moves on to an even bigger test. This week Dan will be going in for a “HIPEC” procedure. The procedure involves opening up Dan’s abdominal cavity and filling it with chemotherapy drugs that have been heated. Unlike systemic chemotherapy delivery, which circulates throughout the body, HIPEC delivers chemotherapy directly to cancer cells in the abdomen. This allows for higher doses of chemotherapy treatment. Heating the solution may also improve the absorption of chemotherapy drugs by tumors and destroy microscopic cancer cells that remain in the abdomen after surgery.
Â
For those of us who are close to Dan, we know he’s the first one we call when we need help and he’s there no questions asked with that contagious smile on his face. This is our chance to answer the call for Dan and his wonderful family. If you’re able to donate and/or attend the pop-up workout we greatly appreciate it, or if you could simply share with family and friends that’s equally helpful. We hope you’ll join us on Sunday as we come together to do something hard as a symbol to inspire Dan to keep up his fight! We’ll be sharing a video of all the happenings with him as soon as he’s in the clear and recovering.