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Daniel “Dano” Rapada has earned many admirers over the years for his courage dealing with a slew of major health issues.

Now those admirers will have the opportunity to show their support for the Swinomish teen and 2021 La Conner High School graduate by taking part in a Feb. 23 fundraiser at Santo Coyote to help defray costs of his recent kidney transplant.

“His story is amazing,” Jaime Stroebel-Reinstra, a lifelong friend of Rapada’s mom, Sally Wilbur, told the Weekly News. “He is such a miracle and a warrior.”

Stroebel-Reinstra said La Conner Hook & Ladder and the La Conner Fire Association will help coordinate the open-to-close benefit event, during which Santo Coyote ownership has pledged 20% of both dine-in and take-out meal ticket profits to Rapada and his family.

“They are so faithful to the community,” Stroebel-Reinstra said of the Santo Coyote team. “They want to give back to the community and have asked the fire department if it wanted to do fundraisers at the restaurant.”

It did not take long for La Conner Hook & Ladder to commit, nor for Stroebel-Reinstra to settle upon a worthy beneficiary.

She said she had seen that a GoFundMe account had been established for Rapada to help his family meet transplant-related expenses.

“When I saw that,” she said, “I thought it would be great to do a fundraiser here for Dano. He has battled through so much and most recently was the kidney transplant. We decided it would be best to do something in February to get those funds coming in.”

Rapada was released from Seattle Children’s Hospital Monday. There was fear he would have to undergo a couple more post-op procedures, but a change in medications and excellent lab test results over the weekend precluded that prospect.

“Now he can get some good rest at the transplant apartment,” said Wilbur. “There will be labs and appointments a few times a week for the next month or so, then home.”

His kidney donor for the Jan. 21 procedure was his dad, Danny. Prior to that Daniel had undergone years of dialysis and was in and out of Children’s receiving treatment for repeated seizures and difficult and often harrowing bouts with serious illnesses.

Rapada for the past seven years has fought ailments related to Aplastic Anemia, a rare condition in which the body stops producing enough new blood cells.

It has been a painful and emotionally draining cycle for Rapada that one family member has described as him being “thrown curve ball after curve ball for the last few years.”

Through it all, Rapada has shouldered his health burdens with courage and grace, inspiring others along the way. Among the many guests during his stays at Children’s have been a wide range of celebrities and professional athletes, most notably Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Alysha Clark and Jewell Loyd.

Santo Coyote owners, Stroebel-Reinstra and others involved in its planning anticipate the local fundraiser will enjoy a large turnout. Expecting as much, the restaurant is encouraging sit-down diners to make reservations beforehand.

“I’m hoping it will be a great community day and night,” said Stroebel-Reinstra, “where we all come together to show love and support for Dano.”