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Save A Life: Naughty Dog fan leather smith fighting cancer (Last stretch ~1.1k left!)

K

kubus

Member
We're almost there. One last push for David!

It's already been two months since we started this donation drive for David Vigil. I want to thank every one of you who supported David, either with words or with donations. With the help of GAF we managed to raise $40,000. That is a ridiculous amount of money and I can't even begin to express how thankful I am to this community. Some of you went to great miles to get David's campaign posted to sites like Kotaku, Joystiq and Polygon - and we succeeded in that! Some of you sacrificed your next-gen plans and donated $400 or more to save a life instead. It was amazing to see how generous GAF can be.

Around Christmas, the donation drive sort-of ended while we were only $7,000 short of reaching the goal. The campaign went dark for a while and we could only cross our fingers and hope that what we raised was enough to save David.

Fast forward to January. The good news: David has had his surgery and is in recovery, until he starts his chemo and radiation treatment. The bad news: He's short on money to pay for those treatments. And if he doesn't have those treatments, he won't last long.

I'm going to call upon you GAF, for one last time. Let's help David raise the remaining $7,000 that is needed to give his cancer one final kick in the face. Let's beat this thing and save David for real!

All donations are welcome. You can buy his products from his website and all the proceeds will go to the GoFundMe page. Paypal donations can also be made through the website. Spread the word on social media, have cool people on Twitter share it. Anything goes, anything helps!

Believe.
Click to expand...
driJTvZ.png


Just as a heads-up: all the products that were ordered on David's website last year are still scheduled to ship at the end of this month (January 29th).
You can still order David's creations on his website, but everything aside from Joel's Backpack and the Uncharted Belt Buckle is sold out. New orders will ship February 20th.

SsCTg03.jpg


About David, and the fundraiser
David Vigil, otherwise known as "That Vigilante" is suffering from Stage 2 Pancreatic cancer. Last year, David was also fighting for his life because of cancer, but with the help of some very generous people and the massive
spread of word on twitter and such, enough money was raised to save him. Unfortunately, during a simple check-up, they found out that the cancer has spread and David is now in an even worse state than before.

The guys and gals at Naughty Dog helped him tremendously last year through twitter (I remember Amy Hennig frantically rallying everyone to donate, and personally thanking everyone who did). His name also appears in
the Last of Us in the form of a collectible Firefly pendant, in case his name rings a bell.

David makes amazing collectible merchandise inspired by Naughty Dog games and his work has been featured on Kotaku, among other sites. He's made multiple watches from Uncharted (did you know Drake wears a
different one in each game?), Drake's leather gun holster, his belt buckle, Ellie and Joel's backpack, a Clicker pencil holder, and more.

Some examples of his work:

sz9PPvL.jpg


UjkXBKf.png


There are two options!

GoFundMe Page:
  • Donation with Creditcard
  • Donation with Bank
David's website:
  • Donation with PayPal
  • Buying products (all proceeds go to the fundraiser. Orders will ship February 20th)
USE CODE "FREESHIP001" FOR FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!!!

It would be such a shame if this world would lose a talent like David. Let's help this passionate man out, GAF!

Thanks for your time! And if you can't donate, please send hem well wishes in this thread! He reads them!

(To people outside of NeoGAF: if you feel the need to contact me about this, I'm at twitter under the username kubuskwal)
 
S

Silky

Banned
Damn. Naughty Dog and Insomniac losing some great people. ;~;

My best wishes to him for a speedy recovery and a successful donation drive.
 
N

NJShadow

Member
kubus said:
to save his life.

David Vigil, otherwise known as "That Vigilante" is suffering from Stage 2 Pancreatic cancer. Last year, David was also fighting for his life because of cancer, but with the help of some very generous people and the massive spread of word on twitter and such, enough money was raised to save him.

Unfortunately, during a simple check-up, they found out that the cancer has spread and David is now in an even worse state than before. If David wants to get treated, he needs $48,000 before November 18th, which is a hell of a goal.

The guys and gals at Naughty Dog helped him tremedously last year through twitter (I remember Amy Hennig frantically rallying everyone to donate, and personally thanking everyone who did). His name also appears in the Last of Us in the form of a collectible Firefly pendant, in case his name rings a bell.

David makes amazing collectible merchandise inspired by Naughty Dog games and his work has been featured on Kotaku, among other sites. He's made multiple watches from Uncharted (did you know Drake wears a different one in each game?), Drake's leather gun holster, his belt buckle, Ellie and Joel's backpacks, a Clicker pencil holder, and more.

Some examples of his work:

It would be such a shame if this world would lose a talent like David. If you have a little money to spare and want to help, you can go to his GoFundMe page and donate, or go to his website and order any of his products (all the money will go directly towards funding David's treatment) as he has them in stock and can be shipped starting January.

Let's help this guy see Naughty Dog's first next-gen game, guys. It would break my heart if he didn't live to see it :(. I don't know a bigger ND fan than David.

Thanks for your time! And if you can't donate, please keep him in your prayers.

(Mods, if this isn't allowed or something, please close this thread. I tried PMing a mod for permission a couple days ago but didn't get a reply. Thanks.)
Click to expand...

David is a genuinely good guy. He goes the extra mile for the fans, and has been nothing but generous when it came to promotions, giveaways, etc. With the good will this guy shows, it should end up being returned to him, 10-fold.
 
M

Monty Mole

Member
That's really sad. So young for cancer, it knows no boundaries.

But I'm also confused and further saddened - are things really still like this in the US? That you have to raise money just to get cancer treatment? I thought Obama was trying to turn things around? I also thought this after reading about that terrible car accident which happened to the Insomniac intern.

Regardless, I wish him - and his family and friends - all the best through what must be an incredibly difficult time.
 
M

MThanded

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
This is sad?

Does anyone happen to know if this is 48k with insurance? If so this just speaks to a bigger issue about our healthcare system here in the US. This should not even be a thing.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
MThanded said:
This is sad?

Does anyone happen to know if this is 48k with insurance? If so this just speaks to a bigger issue about our healthcare system here in the US. This should not even be a thing.
Click to expand...

Have to echo this post and the others before. Absolutely maddening. I hope he gets the treatment he needs and recovers quickly. :(
 
C

coldfoot

Banned
Can't he sign up for Obamacare now, they have to take him?
Oh never mind he needs it by November 18th, DAMN that's a really short amount of time.
 
F

Felsparrow

Neo Member
It's also because, if I remember correctly from other cases, operating on pancreatic cancer is incredibly difficult and risky. You have to get a specialist to do and the operation itself isn't cheap. Then there's covering their risk if the operation isn't a success or if something happens during the operation.
 
M

Monty Mole

Member
Felsparrow said:
It's also because, if I remember correctly from other cases, operating on pancreatic cancer is incredibly difficult and risky. You have to get a specialist to do and the operation itself isn't cheap. Then there's covering their risk if the operation isn't a success or if something happens during the operation.
Click to expand...

No nationalised healthcare + compensation culture leads to the failure of people like this poor fella. Anyway, that is for another topic in the OT forum.

Again, I wish this chap all the best and hope the $48k doesn't become a barrier to his well-being.
Bennett Salander said:
Oh dear, that's so sad to read. I hope everything goes well, David.

Sorry for the stupid OT but I really really want that bag in the middle.
Click to expand...

It's not stupid, it's an appreciation of his talent. The stuff looks like it's been ripped straight out of the game, impressive.
 
K

kubus

Member
Mr_Pooriya said:
Donated some cash. I really hope that he´ll be OK!

#fuckcancer
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, and everyone else who donated. Every bit helps :)

I ordered the Ellie bag some time ago (not available on his site anymore, unfortunately). His stuff is amazing. If anything catches your eye, go for it. You won't regret it, and you're helping this guy fight cancer at the same time!
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
Monty Mole said:
That's really sad. So young for cancer, it knows no boundaries.

But I'm also confused and further saddened - are things really still like this in the US? That you have to raise money just to get cancer treatment? I thought Obama was trying to turn things around? I also thought this after reading about that terrible car accident which happened to the Insomniac intern.

Regardless, I wish him - and his family and friends - all the best through what must be an incredibly difficult time.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering the same. Wasn't the new healthcare bill supposed to put an end to stuff like this? As in the person gets treatment without worrying about going bankrupt or not being able to afford it?
 
P

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Crowdfunding people to survive cancer is like... the oddest thing to me. Its so twisted and bizarre, and hopefully after this guy survives he gets angry and pushes people around him to change things.
 
M

MThanded

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
Miles Quaritch said:
I'm wondering the same. Wasn't the new healthcare bill supposed to put an end to stuff like this? As in the person gets treatment without worrying about going bankrupt or not being able to afford it?
Click to expand...
It is still unclear what the situation is with his insurance. Beyond that, a lot of top cancer treatment centers seem to not be accessible through the new plans that insurers have put up.
 
P

PsihoPerihelion

Member
Monty Mole said:
No nationalised healthcare + compensation culture leads to the failure of people like this poor fella. Anyway, that is for another topic in the OT forum.

Again, I wish this chap all the best and hope the $48k doesn't become a barrier to his well-being.


It's not stupid, it's an appreciation of his talent. The stuff looks like it's been ripped straight out of the game, impressive.
Click to expand...

I'm a sucker for those kind of bags. He's an amazingly talented guy and I wish him the best.

coldfoot said:
You can get it for $150 on his website and also contribute to his healthcare fund. Do it.
Click to expand...

I will check if his website can send the bag to my country. Otherwise, I will have to wait for a friend who is going on vacation to Las Vegas and tell her to buy it there.
 
G

genbatzu

Member
velociraptor said:
What happens if he doesn't pay the $48,000? Will the hospital refuse to treat him?
Click to expand...

stupid us healthcare system...

i'm glad here in austria we have a good insurence
little fact: at the end of a year, the health insurance sends every person a document with a detailed list of how much money we paid to them for insurance (the money is directly subtracted from salary), and how much money we cost (the health insurance pays the bills, ofc). if i remember right last year i had paid 10k € and cost 10k €, my wife paid like ~8k € and cost ~100€ and my mother-in-law paid ~6k € and cost 100k € (yes 100k)

tl;dr: health insurance is usefull


now i go and donate some money

//edit: ha! i made it go 4-digit. still a loooong way to go..
 
K

kubus

Member
genbatzu said:
stupid us healthcare system...

i'm glad here in austria we have a good insurence
little fact: at the end of a year, the health insurance sends every person a document with a detailed list of how much money we paid to them for insurance (the money is directly subtracted from salary), and how much money we cost (the health insurance pays the bills, ofc). if i remember right last year i had paid 10k € and cost 10k €, my wife paid like ~8k € and cost ~100€ and my mother-in-law paid ~6k € and cost 100k € (yes 100k)

tl;dr: health insurance is usefull


now i go and donate some money

//edit: ha! i made it go 4-digit. still a loooong way to go..
Click to expand...
Yeah, so glad with health insurance system here in the Netherlands as well. I can't imagine not getting treatment if you don't have the money to pay for it... Just... being left to die if you can't pay. It's absolutely beyond ridiculous :(.

Thank you so much for your donation, it's still a looooooong way but every little bit helps!
 
A

awesomebro

Member
Pancreatic cancer! Man fuck that shit. Lost an uncle to it. Deadly thing. I wish this gentleman good luck. He's so young too :-(
 
S

shandy706

Member
The fact that this guy has to worry about having any cash up front just to do something to extend/save his life makes me sick.

Best of luck man!

kubus said:
You can also donate any amount you wish with PayPal by going to David's website and adding the "Donation for David" product to your cart and then finishing the transaction using Paypal. Your donation will be added to the GoFundMe page as an "offline donation".
Click to expand...

Thanks for explaining/linking that. Just used it :).

My father passed from cancer at the age of 32 back in 1993. Cancer sucks. I'll be 31 in a few days...bit emotional.
 
K

kubus

Member
Just noticed that GoFundMe only accepts creditcard and bank.
You can also donate any amount you wish with PayPal by going to David's website and adding the "Donation for David" product to your cart and then finishing the transaction using Paypal. Your donation will be added to the GoFundMe page as an "offline donation".
 
SJRB

SJRB

Gold Member
It's surreal that a crowdfunding to treat cancer is needed in the first place, this is disgusting.

All the best to this guy, I hope he gets it in time.
 
M

mob_skater

Member
kubus said:
Yeah, so glad with health insurance system here in the Netherlands as well. I can't imagine not getting treatment if you don't have the money to pay for it... Just... being left to die if you can't pay. It's absolutely beyond ridiculous :(.

Thank you so much for your donation, it's still a looooooong way but every little bit helps!
Click to expand...

Canada health care is good as well. I lost my best friend a few years ago to cancer. He didn't have health insurance since he was self employed. When the doctors diagnosed him with testicular cancer, they rushed his case through the health insurance and got him insured so that he could get the treatment he needed. Unfortunately it was too late and the cancer had spread but it was good knowing that Canada's health care system did everything they could for him.

With that being said, I donated some money to help. Fuck cancer!
 
K

kubus

Member
shandy706 said:
The fact that this guy has to worry about having any cash up front just to do something to extend/save his life makes me sick.

Best of luck man!

Thanks for explaining/linking that. Just used it :).

My father passed from cancer at the age of 32 back in 1993. Cancer sucks. I'll be 31 in a few days...bit emotional.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your donation!

Man, I'm really sorry about your father :(. At such a young age, too. It really is about time we finally kick cancer in its face. Such a horrible disease >_<
 
R

Respawn

Banned
Man I have friends that have made it through this and I've known folks that didn't. Dated a girl whose friend was terminal and a single mother. I still get tears thinking about it. C'mon guys we can't help everyone but we should help where we can. God is good and we bring a smile to Him and others in doing the right thing.
 
K

kubus

Member
jwk94 said:
Does he make those watches for sale? I'd like to buy one.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, not anymore. I asked David some time ago if he was going to sell them again, but he said that he doesn't have the workspace right now to make them after he moved to Santa Monica some time ago :(.
 
K

kubus

Member
GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!

I got a code for free shipping worldwide that you can use if you wish to purchase one of David's products. It's:

FREESHIP001

Thanks for all your donations so far!

edit: crap, double post. sorry :(
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
MThanded said:
It is still unclear what the situation is with his insurance. Beyond that, a lot of top cancer treatment centers seem to not be accessible through the new plans that insurers have put up.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay. So he might not have insurance?

I guess that explains the cost of treatment, but wouldn't there still be a duty of care if his condition worsened?
 
P

Professor Lich

Member
I'll buy something when I'm on my desktop. Poor soul.

I find it amazing that there are now two studios that have helped people in need that are close to them. My heart is out to them.
 
J

jwk94

Member
kubus said:
Unfortunately, not anymore. I asked David some time ago if he was going to sell them again, but he said that he doesn't have the workspace right now to make them after he moved to Santa Monica some time ago :(.
Click to expand...

Aww, they're so nice.
 
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