BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (June 20, 2014) – A man with a rare condition is asking for West Michigan’s help to see a specialist on the other side of the country.
About five years ago, Dan Maurer noticed a growth, and it’s been getting larger ever since. The growth weighs about 75 pounds. It’s affected this man’s life, and his family would like to see him get back to normal. They said one way for that
to happen is to see a doctor in California with experience in the surgery he needs.
In a YouTube video posted to Dan Maurer’s Go-Fund-Me website, he lays out his condition. “Hello my name is Dan Maurer,” he said. “I have Scrotal Lymphedema. I am trying to raise money to have the surgery to get the growth removed.”
Five years ago, Maurer’s life was on track. He was getting his weight under control, had lost 50 pounds. Then, says his mother, Connie Maurer, Maurer had a setback.
“He noticed a growth on groin, and that time it was the size of a cantaloupe,” said Connie.
A visit to a doctor in Michigan turned up little in terms of results. “They really hadn’t told him what he was dealing with,” she said. As time passed, his condition got worse.
“The bigger it gets, it seems, like, the faster it grows,” Connie said. “When he stands it hangs to his ankles.”
Through his own research, Maurer found a doctor who specialized in the surgery he said is required.
“We set up an appointment with Dr. Gelman in California at the end of July,” Maurer says in his YouTube video.
But the the doctor is out-of-network from his insurance.
“The first trip is going to be $4,000,” said Connie.
That money will only cover the consultation. Maurer has a goal of raising $20,000 through his Go-Fund-Me webpage.
His family and friends are planning a fundraising spaghetti dinner at the Robin’s Nest Event Center in Battle Creek. It will be held on June 27 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
