Lifelong Oxford resident Dane Stites has a new lease on life and his family and friends are trying to help pay for it.
Stites, 52, was the recipient of a liver transplant Aug. 16 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
To help offset expenses incurred from his procedure and the costly, but necessary, prescriptions he must now take, Stites? family and friends are holding a spaghetti dinner benefit Sunday, Sept. 26 from 2 to 7 p.m. at American Legion Post 108 on E. Drahner Road.
Stites, a 1970 graduate of Oxford High School and former owner of North Oakland Collision, was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1989-1990. The blood-borne virus wasn’t identified by the medical community until 1988.
Screening of blood donations Stites made to the American Red Cross while working for American Aggregate led to the diagnosis.
However, based on the significant amount of ‘scarring? to his liver, doctors believe he contracted the virus sometime in the early 1970s, Stites said. It was during that period that he worked two years as a paramedic for the North End Ambulance Company.
Stites believes he contracted Hepatitis C while crawling through wrecked vehicles to aid and retrieve crash victims.
‘I remember getting cut by car glass. I remember washing out the ambulance and it was just solid blood. I had blood all over me. And we never wore gloves back then. They (doctors) figured I probably got it from there.?
Over the years the disease destroyed Stites? liver to the point where he almost died in early July and had he not received a new liver in mid-August, Stites would not be with us now.
‘They figured I only had another two weeks and I’d have been all done,? he said.
Stites, who had been on a transplant waiting list for a year, said he was told his new liver came from a young man involved in a fatal auto crash.
Ironic, considering Stites? contraction of Hepatitis C most likely occurred at the scene of an auto accident years ago.
‘The new liver took immediately and the doctors were just amazed,? he said. ‘So far, so good.?
‘I was very, very fortunate, God was with me. God wanted me to stay here I guess.?
Today, Stites is a little shaky, has some blurred vision and still needs a lot of rest, but he is a new man, both mentally and physically.
‘It’s like being reborn,? he said. ‘Everything works better. It’s like being a new person. I feel like I’m in my 20s again. It’s unbelievable how I feel.?
Since his liver transplant, Stites? life has become a tale of two different men.
‘Before I was pretty miserable,? he said. ‘I was sorta miserable, probably even mean to people. I knew I was dying. There wasn’t much to be happy about.?
Stites said all he wanted to do was sleep all day to escape his thoughts, his physical pain and weakness and the reality of his mortality.
‘Before I was lucky to be up by noon or two o’clock in the afternoon. I didn’t want to be bothered. I wanted to sleep. I felt miserable and I was tired constantly. I’d about had it.?
But that’s not Stites since his liver transplant.
‘Now, as soon as my eyes open, I’m gone. I’m out to see the world,? he said, noting he spends his days ‘visiting people? and ‘driving around.?
‘I love life now,? he said. ‘Today, everyday I wake up, I’m like a new person. I’m ready to go . . . I’m a completely different person now and everybody knows it.?
Stites? attitude toward others has changed dramatically.
‘There’s no more road rage,? he said. ‘I’m just happy to be alive and I treat everybody real well. I hope to do a lot of good stuff in life and help people.?
Stites hopes to set an example for others, showing them how good life is and how lucky they are to be healthy and alive.
‘There’s a lot of bitter people out there. Everybody’s in a big hurry to get nowhere.?
Spending time with his four small grandchildren ? Gage Rinier, 7; Tiara Bartz, 3; Jayden Pruitt, 10 months; and Angelina Bartz, 7 weeks ? is a top priority for Stites.
He especially enjoys spending time with Gage to whom he’s like a father.
‘He’s my life,? Stites said. ‘Him and I are sidekicks.?
Stites and his grandson enjoy hunting together in northern Michigan and grandpa hopes to one day take him out west.
‘I have a lot of good times with him,? he said. ‘He’s a good little guy.?
But for all his newfound happiness, Stites second chance at life has come with a price albeit a monetary one.
The prescription medications Stites must now take cost approximately $3,000 per month. Just one of them costs more than $1,400, he said.
Although Blue Cross Blue Shield and Medicare cover a majority of the expenses, the remainder Stites must pay is still quite significant.
‘I’m not a rich person and these medicines are very, very expensive,? said Stites, who’s deteriorating health forced him to quit working for American Aggregate in 1998. It will be a while before he’s able to return to any type of job, he noted.
In the meantime, on top of the prescription costs, Stites also has medical bills to pay associated with the transplant procedure itself.
That’s why Stites? family, friends and golf buddies (he was one of the founding members of the TGIF Golf League in the early 1970s, which plays every Friday at Oxford Hills) have come together to conduct this spaghetti dinner benefit on Sept. 26. Attendees will be asked to donate $20 per adult and $5 per child under age 12.
The benefit will consist of a complete spaghetti dinner, door prizes, 50/50 drawings, hourly raffles and $1 beers.
Advance tickets for the benefit are available at American Legion Post 108 (130 E. Drahner Road), Oxford Hills Golf and Country Club (300 E. Drahner Road) and Collier Lanes (879 S. Lapeer Road). Tickets will also be available at the door the day of the event.
‘I’m very grateful. I love all my friends and family for what they’re doing for me,? Stites said. I don’t really like doing this (the fund-raiser). I feel bad because there’s people worse off than me. But I really appreciate it. I love all my family, my friends, my golf buddies.?
For more information about the Dane Stites Spaghetti Dinner Fund-raiser please call the American Legion at (248) 628-9081.