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But now, things are different. Dave needs a new liver. And although both he and his wife of 14 years, Kelly, are uncomfortable with it, they understand that they need to share Dave’s story.
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Dave Dicke receives a countdown-to-air during production of the noon news live broadcast at the HBC studio in Winona Monday. Dicke is battling liver disease and has been on the transplant list since August. He continues to work at the studio where he has been a news anchor for four years.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
It’s a matter of life or death.
As a news anchor on HBC, Dave’s face is well-known. What’s less known is that Dave has a liver disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, or PSC. It’s a
rare disease, affecting about 6 per 100,000 people in the United States. He’s been able to live a pretty normal life, but lately, his quality of life is deteriorating as his the disease worsens.
In August, Dave was put on the National Liver Transplant List, a list of 14,000 people needing a new liver.
PSC affects the bile ducts in the liver. In a normal liver, these channels are smooth, straight paths that carry bile into the intestines for food digestion. For Dave, the bile ducts look like a tree without leaves — “a big old craggy oak,” Dave described it.
Because these ducts are narrowed, the bile backs up, causing an infection and a few days in the hospital with antibiotics. Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, and a fever usually accompany a breakout.
Until now, only those closest to the Dicke family knew about Dave’s disease. His co-workers also know, as he has to miss work for appointments or when he is hospitalized.
After the liver transplant, he’ll miss four months of work.
Being on the air has always been a dream for Dave. He went to Winona State University, and after working a few years, came back to Winona as an anchor on Winona Radio for 20 years before starting at HBC four years ago.
“He has such a passion for being in the media that I think it’s such a good fit for him,” Kelly said. “It’s so comfortable to him, it’s like second skin to him.”
Actually, public speaking terrifies Dave. The way he does it is turning his broadcasts into a conversation.
“You know there’s more than one person listening, but you just focus on that one person and make it a personal kind of connection,” he said.
He met Kelly while doing a live broadcast at the Winona Mall. He spotted her at a booth and asked her out.
She brushed him off, but he couldn’t get her out of his mind. A few months later, shaking profusely, he asked her out to brunch. Their first date was eight hours long.
Kelly talks about her husband’s sense of humor, his calm disposition and how he doesn’t have a mean word to say about anyone.
“He’s the strongest man that I think I know,” Kelly said. “I don’t think a lot of people could do what he has to do on a daily basis to live.”
Fatigue is the biggest side effect, which makes work and playing Dad to Natalie, 8, and Emily, 12, challenging. He naps almost daily and even simple tasks like grocery shopping require a solid nap afterward.
Because bile is important in food digestion, particularly fat, Dave watches his diet, though he does so reluctantly. He has developed diabetes from the disease.
The daily routine also includes taking 18 pills a day. The family averages $500 to $700 a month in medical bills.
The liver transplant itself is a several-thousand-dollar-procedure. In fact, the incision Dave will have on his stomach for the operation is shaped like the Mercedes Benz logo. The joke is that he will be paying more for his surgery than on a Mercedes Benz, so they give him a complimentary emblem, Dave said.
The transplant itself, as well as related medical expenses incurred by the donor, will be primarily paid for by Dave’s insurance company. But not all out-of-pocket costs are covered, and the family’s finances are already strained.
Dave will also be out of work for at least four months following the procedure.
To help the family, a benefit will be held Feb. 24, at the Elk’s Lodge to raise money and get the word out that a donor is needed.
Dave needs a partial liver transplant from a live donor who is a family member or friend. The donor must be someone close to Dave’s height, age and physical attributes.
The Dickes won’t know who the donor is until they get a call to schedule surgery. The donor is even given a separate team of doctors at Mayo Clinic to avoid any coercion from either side.
The donor’s liver will grow back to its normal size in seven to 10 days, but Dave’s new liver will take a little longer — up to six weeks.
The good news is that a number of people have called with interest, Mayo officials have told the family.
Also, Dave just completed the second of three phases of testing, which means there has been some movement in the donor selection process.
The way that Dave was put on the transplant list was by his level of need and quality of life.
“They said my quality of life really determines my need for a liver transplant,” Dave explained. “I’ll be cruising along, then get an episode of Cholangitis, then I go down. Then I’ll recover, but I won’t get up to this point again, I’ll be a little bit below that. Then I’ll keep going, then the episodes will get more and more frequent. And it’s just your quality of life just gets sucked right out of you.”
Based on some test scores, doctors make a case for their patient to be on the liver transplant list, much like an attorney representing a client.
One offer has already been made. Natalie — a daddy’s girl — offered to give part of her liver.
The girls react in very different ways to their dad’s disease and impending transplant. Natalie asks a lot of questions. Emily is quieter.
At one appointment, Natalie asked the doctor if anyone ever died getting a transplant. Kelly said that the doctor took a deep breath and replied that their goal is to help people live, and that while some people do die, her dad would turn out just fine.
Emily acts as Kelly’s right-hand man and is always at her mother’s side when there’s a problem.
Because Dave gets tired easily, the Dickes do a lot of sedentary things, like watching movies and playing games. Chess and Battleship are some of the girls’ favorites. They like to make campfires in the backyard.
“It’s just part of who we are,” Kelly said. “We have this, we deal with it, we usually deal with it very privately. I mean, we’re just a family. We have a couple of extra things but we’re still a family.”
Dave said that he’s ready to go “at a moment’s notice.”
“I’ve been praying for so many years for this to be taken care of so we can get our life going again.”
Diagnosed with the disease at age 12, he remembers being terrified as a kid.
“I remember lying in the hospital bed crying, praying to God to get me out of this and making all these outlandish promises to eat all my vegetables and be good.”
Kelly is ready, too. She wants her husband to feel whole again and be able to spend more time as a family.
“We are three rambunctious ladies. We take a lot of his energy.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Dave Dicke Liver Transplant Benefit
WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 24
3 to 6 p.m., auction at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Elks Lodge
COST: $7 spaghetti dinner
Get tickets at HBC or Winona Radio
