IKnowDaveDusick.com | The online home of the Dave Dusick Foundation.

The Dave Dusick Foundation

The Dave Dusick Foundation is a not-for-profit entity dedicated to providing support to families that have a child who suffers from a life-threatening or life-altering illness. This support can be personal, emotional or financial. The successful ending to Dave's story is a result of the staff and community of the Riley Hospital for Children. As the only comprehensive children’s hospital in Indiana, Riley Hospital for Children has spent 85 years caring for Indiana’s children. Dave is just one of many who have passed thru Riley with outstanding results. By sharing his story, Dave hopes to raise awareness for this storied facility.

For this reason, the Dave Dusick Foundation currently donates all the proceeds from this project directly to the Riley Children's Foundation.

"Healing comes in many forms. Whether it’s physically healing a child’s illness, guiding an emotionally broken family to hope, or providing children the strength to believe that no matter the hand they’ve been dealt, they are beautiful and strong. We understand that every family and every child who comes to Riley is looking for hope and healing."

> Riley Hospital for Children

For more information on Riley, please visit: RileyKids.org or visit them on social

COUNTDOWN TO RKDD V AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY!

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Dave's Story

The I Know Dave Dusick Collaboration was the idea of a small group of Dave’s close friends. It started as good fun, but quickly grew into something meaningful. In honor of the 30th Anniversary of his miraculous defeat of an incurable cancer, Dave publicly told his story for the first time.

The story of the Dave Dusick that everyone knows started in May of 1978. At the age of thirteen months, I was diagnosed with a small tumor in my right cheek. It was Rhabdomyosarcoma, an incurable cancer. At that time, the stats went like this: one in a million kids got it…and none survived. I was given a 50% chance of living six months.

Within days, I was admitted into my new home, the Riley Hospital for Children. Over the next twenty-four months, I endured numerous surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. Thanks to the efforts of the staff at Riley, an amazing support network of family and friends, a whole lot of Prayer and one great big miracle…I was declared clear of all signs of cancer in the Summer of 1980.

Although clear of cancer, the result did not come without complication. Because of the extreme nature of the treatment, the cells in the affected area were damaged, along with my pituitary gland. In simple terms, they killed the cancer…and everything near it. The short-term result was a lack of a right side sinus and the prevention of the growth of an upper palette of adult teeth. Through the years, several minor obstacles were battled, but the most obvious long-term effect was to my physical appearance. As I matured and grew, the right side of my face did not grow at the same rate.

Today, I live with a few minor inconveniences, but for the most part, without disability or impediment. Sure, I look different, but hey...it's me. Nicknames such as “the funny looking kid at Indy”, “the crinkle faced kid” and “Concave Dave” are not self-deprecating, they’re self-motivating. My life is a gift...and I'm grateful for the chance to live it.

Through turning his adversity into his strength, Dave has become a 'recognizable' figure in many professional and social communities. While not many know his story, it seems that no matter where you go, everybody knows Dave. He and the IKDD Nation hope to use this recognition to create a positive endeavor that benefits current and future families that have a child who suffers from a life-threatening childhood illness.

Want to follow along with Dave's adventures? Check out DaveDusick.com and feel free to follow him on social media!