John Davis is the head coach at Misericordia University (D-III - PA), but more importantly, he is the father of six and a husband that could use our help.
Back on March 1st, John's wife, Octavia, was involved in an accident that flipped her car over at an intersection and she had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital.
After an extended leave from her job, and multiple appointments, the Davis family learned that Octavia would need a multi-level spine fusion that would keep her out of work long-term, and a date was set for surgery in late May.
The surgery is extensive and will take 3-5 hours to complete, and Davis shares that they will need to spend a few days in the hospital to recover, followed by a "recovery / rehab that will be lifelong and life altering."
The following is an update from coach Davis from yesterday that shares some details on the families current situation:
As a husband and as a man, the hardest moment for me was realizing that I’m going to need help to provide the type of aftercare she will need following the surgery to see her get as close to recovered as she can.
Anyone who knows my character and my story knows I pride myself on being a provider, never afraid to sacrifice to make sure my “tribe” never wanted for anything. I was against this GoFundMe because I thought to myself, I will figure this out. You will make this work. I relented because close friends said they want to be a blessing to our family.
The list of things we will need to get to make sure after care at home is possible has started coming in. A raised bed for the living room, temporary bathroom set up, back brace, walkers, wheelchair, wheelchair ramp. It got to be extremely overwhelming. Im thankful that in the days after the accident. I was able to be at every Drs appointment, every test, did every pharmacy run. On the days I was too exhausted to cook the donated DoorDash gift cards allowed me to make sure a hot meal was still on the table. Securing a 2nd job won’t fix the fact that she will need some help through recovery.
As a college football coach my ascent and my passion has required me to spend quite a lot of time away from home and working to be instrumental in raising boys to men and being present in the lives of 100+men, assistant coaches and staff at all times. Now is the time I prioritize my wife and make sure all my available time is home with her continuing to nurse her back to health.
I know firsthand the type of coach, and man John Davis is, and how hard it can be for us as men in leadership roles to ask for help.
A few years ago, while my family and I were vacationing in Virginia, I had the opportunity to meet up with coach John Davis and his staff while he was in the midst of an impressive rebuild at the Apprentice School to talk some football. While there led guided tour of the facilities and shipyards that his players work at during the day, gaining real world skills learning their chosen trade in what I believe to be among the most unique college football environments in the country. We were able to chat about the unique challenges that playing football at a place like The Apprentice School presents, as well as a bit about family and life.
Davis has poured his life as a coach into so many young men and fellow staff members, and now he needs to lean on us.
Please, if you're able, consider donating to the GoFundMe that has been set up, which you can find via this link.