Loren Dils Caregiver Support Campaign

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GOALS!

Loren Dils was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 41 which was over 9 years ago.  He has continued to live a full and productive life even with the difficulties that ALS presents to him.  As you can see from the articles below Loren has continued to give back and inspire our community.  He is also a fantastic father to his 2 sons who have been able to get to know him better and better every day.

For the past 3 years Loren has lived with the help of a ventilator that breathes for him. He also uses a motorized chair to get around which, to date, has logged nearly 3,000 miles.  Besides this specialized medical equipment, Loren needs the assistance of caregivers 24 hours a day.  Needless to say the medical care that Loren needs on a daily basis is very expensive totalling $250,000 per year.  While a small portion of those costs are covered by insurance, most of it is not and is covered mostly by his family. The average ALS patient survives 3-5 years and we are so lucky to have Loren still battling this awful disease and helping our community after 9 years.  The extreme cost of ALS has largely depleted his family’s resources and he needs more help from the community that he has given so much of his time and energy to.

The goal of this web page is to help raise $175,000 per year to help cover those costs that Loren’s family and insurance does not cover.  We want Loren to be able to continue to be the active father that he is to his sons and to be an active member in our community.  There is a link on this page that will allow you to donate and help Loren  defray these costs.  Thank you for any help that you can give.  Loren, his family and his friends truly appreciate any help that you can give.  (Updated Nov 17, 2016)

Donate to Loren

100% of your monetary contributions will go directly to support Loren’s caregiver services.

The man behind the Ice Bucket Challenge is drowning in medical bills (CNN)

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Loren Dils is spending significantly less than Pete does on monthly medical and care-taking bills, but it is still extremely expensive. Loren’s bills are about $20,000 per month. ALS is a very expensive disease! If you would like to make a donation to Loren Dils Caregiver Support Campaign, button is below.  Thank you!

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/25/health/als-ice-bucket-challenge-financial-burden-trnd/index.html

100% of your monetary contributions will go directly to support Loren’s caregiver services.

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“I first met Loren when I was 17 and he was recruiting me to become a Lobo. In my first experience with him I could see how fiery and competitive he was and I knew pretty quickly that was the kind of energy I wanted to surround myself with. Little did I know when I signed to play at New Mexico that Loren would become one of my biggest role models. He is one who’s opinion I value as much as anyone’s. I remember the first set I played against him, and he completely kicked my butt, but after he was so reassuring that I had something special inside of me, I felt like I had no choice but to do everything I could to prove him right! He is a great motivator! In fact he still kicks my butt daily-only now the game is chess not tennis. Loren Dils, is truly a hero of mine and I am so lucky to call him a friend.”

Bart Scott, UNM Men’s Tennis Team Head Coach (2014-16), Associate Head Coach (2012-14), Assistant Coach (2008-12), Student-Athlete (1999-03)

February 2015 Update

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Loren Dils

Loren has entered the seventh year of being diagnosed with ALS.  While Loren’s attitude remains remarkably positive, his physical decline necessitates ongoing caregiving services that are sadly not covered by insurance.

Loren’s physical decline necessitates ongoing caregiver services that are not covered by insurance.

A note from a contributor to Loren’s campaign:

“The reason for this note is to let you know that the highlight of my brief history of tennis was meeting you at the Lobo Club. In no way can simple words express the gratitude I feel for the times we spent together, the wonderful lessons you taught me about tennis and life. Your life continues to inspire the hearts and souls of so many people in a positive way. I can only say I feel blessed to call you a friend.”

Our goal, as a show of support and gratitude, is to help give Loren a quality of life he deserves.

Many of us have asked what we could do to assist this man who has impacted so many of us, both on and off the tennis court.  The need for financial support is great and we launched a support fund in 2012 to help pay for ongoing caregiver services.

Thank You For Your Support

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Dear Supporters of Loren Dils:

I would like to first thank everyone on this list that has given to help support Loren.  Words cannot express the gratitude that Loren feels knowing there are so many people that are willing to help support him.  Last Friday, I read him the list of donors and as you can imagine, he was pretty overwhelmed.  Loren’s comment, so typically Loren, was that it is so much easier to give than to receive.

I apologize for the delay in reaching out to everyone that has donated. This has been a daunting task for me on so many levels, yet the goal is so worth the effort. I asked my friend who built the site, www.lorendils.com to add an update page so that I can just add updates as they arise and try and do a monthly “newsletter”.  This might make it easier for me to send updates to the 400 plus “friends of Loren” that we have reached out to.

Loren’s spirits stay remarkably positive as he continues to coach/support some of the young kids in beginner programs at UNM.  Two of these rising stars are his sons Connor and Tanner.  Tanner loves to coach and support his dad in running tournaments for the kids.  Connor wants to be out there winning.  Loren’s caring and giving attitude continues on so many levels.  He is quite a remarkable man.

To date we have raised almost $20,000.00 which has been so helpful with his caregiver needs.  While our goal of $168,000 seems high, we will keep on persevering as donations continue to come in and we will explore other options to keep on helping Loren.

I have been asked by some of his former players if they could host a benefit tournament to assist in raising funds.  We are exploring that idea and others to help offset his support needs.

Your emails and caring support are absolutely amazing.  Thank you all so much for everything from money to emails that go towards Loren’s support.

Robert B. Younger
(505) 250-1895
ryounger@galves.com