Pretty soon, cancer will put David Pollard in the ground.
But on Monday, he hustled as hard as possible in his wheelchair. Pollard, 39, was running his own fundraiser: a spaghetti dinner aimed to help cover an expected $10,000 in funeral expenses.
“Everybody kept telling me, ‘I’ll have a benefit. I’ll have a benefit.’ But no one did anything,” he said. “I got tired of waiting around. So I decided to do it myself.”
When his time comes, the benefit will be his last act of love for his family. Likely in his final days, he wants to be as little a burden as possible.
No fund for Pollard has been set up at any banking institution. However, those wishing to help may call him at 620-7853.
Pollard and his wife, Esther, have been married nearly 10 years. He made his living in demolition, gutting stores that would be revamped. She works taking care of her father, who suffered a debilitating stroke seven years ago.
Forever, Pollard had a mole on his shoulder. It grew bigger and darker last year, so he went to a doctor in October. A biopsy showed cancer.
“They said I had cancer for 15 years,” Pollard says.
The disease already had spread through his body, putting him at end-stage. He says he is beyond treatment.
“If they tried to open me up, I’d die on the table,” he says. “It’s too far gone.”
Pollard’s time on earth is short. He stopped working right after the diagnosis. He has spent most of his time with his kids: son Dakota, 2, and daughter Asia, 7,
“My son’s too young to know (about Pollard’s imminent death),” he says. “My daughter knows what’s going on, but she doesn’t understand it.”
Meantime, Esther Pollard tries not to think about her husband’s precarious health. She focuses on taking care of the kids, her dad and her husband.
“I keep pretty busy,” she says matter-of-factly.
The couple has been compiling a scrapbook and photo album. That way, the kids can better remember him.
David Pollard has no life insurance. However, he has signed up for Social Security benefits; he says each child will get $700 a month after he is gone.
“My children will be taken care of,” he says flatly.
However, there remains the expense of final arrangements. The couple have talked to a funeral home about a funeral. Nothing fancy, “just the basics,” he says.
They’ve also priced a tombstone. “I don’t know what it’ll say yet,” he says.
Pollard wants to take care as much of the cost as possible. That’s why he got a hold of Avanti’s eatery, which donated the room and food for Monday’s event. Avanti’s expected upward of 250 to show up throughout the night; roughly, that sort of traffic might cover a quarter of Pollard’s final arrangements.
His wife says the benefit served as a kind of therapy for her husband. He spent a lot of time with the planning.
“I think he’s kind of enjoying it,” she says. “It keeps him pretty busy. His mind is off other things. I think it’s good for him.”
The couple arrived 10 minutes later for the dinner. With Pollard in his wheelchair, his wife pushed him past a crowd of about 30 people who had already gathered. His neck and shoulder weakened by the cancer, his head drooped to his right. Nonetheless, he gamely took his place behind a table set up at the entry of the dining room.
Then Pollard began taking money – $10 for adults, $7 for kids – and peeling off dinner tickets from a roll. The steady throng filed by, most without saying a word. A few offered short wishes of good will: “Good luck, buddy,” one woman said.
Some had taken collections from neighbors and handed over envelopes. One woman stuck a $10 bill in Pollard’s hand, but immediately turned to leave. “You can have that,” she said with a smile. “I’m not a big spaghetti-eater.”
Pollard, his head still drooping, did not seem able to smile much as the diners trudged in. Visibly tired, he kept his words to a minimum.
One fellow asked, “How you holdin’ up, David?”
Pollard didn’t answer for a few moments as he counted money and passed out more tickets. Then he said, with little energy, “I’m holding up the best I can.”
PHIL LUCIANO is a columnist with the Journal Star. He can be reached at [email protected], 686-3155 or (800) 225-5757, Ext. 3155. Luciano co-hosts “The Markley & Luciano Show,” 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekdays on 102.3 Max-FM.
Read the original article from Journal Star.
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