In January of 2017, Doug Dupler, a representative of Safe Step Walk-in Tub Co received a letter from the parents (Becky and Gerald Smith) of Jason Smith. The letter explained the year-long tumult being endured by their son, who in 2016 entered the emergency room with chest pains, which was initially diagnosed as pancreatitis.
During his stay, Jason’s situation darkened and he was rushed to the ICU, where his heart stopped twice. Jason would be in the hospital for six months and during his stay, he endured a feeding tube for five months, six surgeries, dialysis, numerous CT scans, blood disease, liver damage, diabetes, and a ventilator with two drain tubes in his body.
Fast forward a year from the original diagnosis and Jason is now on his second round of therapy in his home. During the ordeal, Jason lost more than 100 pounds. Jason’s wife Brittany lost her job six months ago after caring for Jason during his illness. They have a five-year-old daughter and given the stack of medical bills, face financial hardships they could not have fathomed 15 months earlier. Aware of his company’s award-winning national program of giving, Safe Step Cares, Dupler passed the letter along to company president Mike Duffer, who started the program based on a promise he made to his mother upon starting the business to give back to those in need. Duffer decided to help the Smiths with a state-of-the-art walk-in tub, free of charge.
Dupler, who installs Safe Step tubs as his profession, was so moved by the story that he decided to organize a golf tournament in order to help with the family’s expenses…before he learned of his president’s intentions.
The video tells the rest of the story.