Community Corner

Beloved Middletown Teacher On Unpaid Leave During Health Battle, Community Helps

The longtime educator has contracted COVID-19 three separate times. He has used up all his sick days, and he had several unpaid days.

MIDDLETOWN, CT – The community is rallying around a longtime Middletown High School teacher after he contracted COVID-19 three separate times.

A GoFundMe was set up to benefit Daniel Lowry and his wife Lisa to help pay bills while Daniel is under the care of doctors.

The goal of the fundraiser was $20,000. It is currently at $28,591

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Lowry first contracted COVID-19 in December 2019. Lowry soldiered on for his students even though he had a pre-existing condition, which put him at high risk.

When he contracted the virus again in December 2021, he caught the more dangerous Delta variant, which began the multiple symptoms that kept him out of work.

Find out what's happening in Middletownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Having used up all his sick days, he had several unpaid days.

However, Lowry started seeing some progress and returned to work, but he caught COVID-19 for the third time in December 2022.

As much as he tried to return to work, his body wouldn’t let him.

Because of the daily symptoms, Lowry is set to miss close to a third of this school year unpaid, as he is out sick and has exhausted every avenue with his union and the school district.

That is when his close friend Diane Allen started the GoFundMe fundraiser to pay for Lowry’s bills and medical expenses, which included 10 doctors, 10 different medications, and expensive medical tests resulting in no answers.

Allen wrote on the fundraiser page that Lowry is an incredibly devoted and loving husband, father, brother, friend and teacher.

>>>View the GoFundMe page here.

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