Yo! MTV Raps' Doctor Dre helped push hip-hop closer to mainstream back in the late 1980s to the mid-1990s as part of the classic rap TV show, but now Dre is in need of help from his fans and supporters.
On Aug. 10, a GoFundMe campaign was launched on behalf of the TV and former radio personality, who has suffered from Type II diabetes for decades, resulting in his partial blindness and a recent leg amputation. On the crowdfunding platform, the profile explains how Dre's health has declined.
"Dre has been struggling with the effects of advanced Type II diabetes for a long time," the GoFundMe description reads. "Dre's announcement that the illness had robbed him of his eyesight was one of the ways he's gone on to 'wag[e] a public battle with diabetes'—as a story in The New York Times described his efforts in 2016."
As the post continues, an announcement confirms that the 56-year-old hip-hop veteran had surgeries to remove his leg and foot in June after falling down a flight of stairs in his home.
"The diabetes had already caused a serious decline in the function of that ankle, but this new injury required hospitalization and surgery," the description continues. "On June 17, his foot was amputated. On June 24, his right leg was amputated up to the knee. He has since been fitted with a prosthetic and is now learning how to walk with it. If the good Doctor remains true to his unsinkable form, he may someday be running marathons using that prosthetic."
In the days since the GoFundMe account was launched, Dre has received more than $10,765 in donations. The goal for the crowdfunding page is $500,000.
Doctor Dre hosted Yo! MTV Raps with Ed Lover from 1989 to 1995. He and Lover also co-hosted Hot 97's morning show in the early 1990s. The duo even released an album called Back Up Off Me! in 1994. Dre served as a DJ for the Beastie Boys as well.
You can donate to Doctor Dre's GoFundMe here.
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