Paddlers of Keauhou Canoe Club have started a GoFundMe page for longtime West Hawaii paddler Dave Yamagata, who was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder that prevents his body from making red blood cells.
Yamagata, according to the page, is entirely dependent on blood transfusions every two-to-four weeks and now needs a bone marrow transplant, a process that will take between six months to a year once it starts. It also will require Yamagata and his girlfriend to relocate to be close to the facility where he receives the bone marrow transplant. He recently traveled to the City of Hope in California and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to explore his medical options.
“We will be talking to the experts to find out what is recommended, make an informative decision and then choose a facility to pursue treatment,” Louise Morris, a nurse, and Yamagata’s girlfriend, said in a news release. “Before treatment begins, Dave will need to be matched with a bone marrow donor."
“I hope to get back to coaching paddling again as it’s satisfying to see the kids grow up to be great paddlers,” Yamagata said in the release. “When I coach the novice men and women and they win big, it’s really something.”
According to the GoFundMe page, Yamagata, 63, has been part of the paddling community for years, coaching, serving on the board and committees and hosting everything from the Yamagata Challenge to rec races, parties and fundraising.
Yamagata grew up planting coffee and ranching on his family’s farm in Kealakekua, Hawaii. He graduated from Konawaena High School in 1978 and is a former member of the Hawaii Carpenters Union. He worked in the food and beverage industry at the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai Grille and the Hualālai Resort’s Ke‘olu Clubhouse and Residents' Beach House before taking leave from his job at the Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay.
Those wishing to donate to the Dave Yamagata Bone Marrow Transplant Fund can visit the GoFundMe page at //gf.me/u/37dxun.