Community rallies around Pocatello man preparing for sixth craniotomy

A former popular Eastern Idaho radio DJ is preparing for his sixth craniotomy. Dusty Bee will be admitted to the University of Utah hospital on May 16.

“I have had 59 spinal taps, 22 hospital stays, six pic lines, 26 weeks on IV antibiotics, and more medical procedures than I can count, and believe it or not, I am still leaking CFS,” Bee wrote on his “Bee Happy Movement” Facebook page. “My journey is not over, but it is going to get stopped, and I am going to continue my journey!”

The goal of this sixth surgery is to finally put an end to his cerebrospinal fluid leak, something he has been battling for two years.

The rare illness has taken a toll on the man who always seems to smile. All of the headaches caused by the leak, doctor’s visit and overall sickness cost him his job as afternoon host for 100.7 MYFM. The medical bills continue to add up. A craniotomy can cost as much as $23,000. Dusty is about to have his sixth.

“I, more than any other point in the two-year journey that I have been on, am lost,” Bee said in a video posted on his page. “I’ve really had a hard day, just because I feel like I’m failing at a lot of things.”

In his videos, Dusty’s words and emotion are raw. He doesn’t hold back. It’s one of the reasons he’s earned the respect and following of so many people across the country.

“I love the fact that he is real and that he is raw with everybody,” one of those followers, Brooke Dayley, said.

Dayley had never met Bee until a few weeks ago when the videos gave Dayley an idea. She’s decided to hold a fundraiser to help with the mounting medical bills.

“When Dusty says that he is alone, and he feels like he is going through this alone, I just feel like that knowing that there is so many here in the community that is willing to help contribute to make this event something big and hopefully something that none of us are going to be able to forget, especially Dusty, I just think is amazing,” Dayley said.

No longer working as a radio host, Bee is now working at Costco.

“I also admire the fact that he is still trying to work,” Dayley said “There is a lot of people, and there is nothing wrong with this, but there are a lot of people that would just say ‘hey I am sick and I need to take some time for myself and I’m going to live off of disability.”

Dayley, with the help of family and friends, is holding a fundraiser on June 1. The support from strangers like Dayley is overwhelming to Bee.

“I just talked to Brooke Dayley and she is putting together a little fundraiser for me,” Bee said in a video, choking back tears. “And, I think I have said this to you, but I am going to say it again, I wish so badly, with everything inside of my body that I didn’t have to be the guy who was needing a fundraiser or needing contributions.”

The event will feature a spaghetti dinner and donations from the community to be auctioned off during a silent auction.

“Thank you for, thank you for seeing something in me and thank you for listening to my videos and my rants enough to make a difference,” Bee said.

The event will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Golden Nugget on West Burnside in Pocatello.