Hillsboro musician regains sight, music career

Hillsboro musician regains sight, music career

Dan Kouba is a self-made guitar player - something he worked so hard at that just three years after he started playing, he formed a band that eventually became well-known around southwest Wisconsin, earning them gigs at establishments in the area and throughout the Midwest.

However, one evening, while performing on stage in a small town in Illinois, Dan, of Hillsboro, Wis., noticed something happening in his eye. Within minutes, he was unable to read the music right in front of him, and immediately, his mind jumped to the worst-case scenario: he had just gone blind.

"I had to stop," he says. "I realized I've got a problem."

Spooked by what had happened, Dan saw an optometrist in Hillsboro, who told him he had a hole in is macula. From there, he was referred to retina specialist Syed Shah, M.D., at Emplify Health by Gundersen La Crosse Hospital.

Music with a cause

In 2015, at 64 years of age, Dan had heart surgery, one of two in his life, in Madison - due in large part to the stress of running several businesses. At the time, his doctor gave him a book about using music as a stress reliever, so he decided he wanted to learn to play the guitar.

Dan learned more than just a few chords and a couple songs to pick; he found he also had a penchant for writing songs - creating lyrics and instrumentals for causes he feels passionate about. Then in 2018, Dan formed a band, Dan Kouba and the Journeymen. That group has since dissolved. But he remembers playing solo acts, too, highlighted by a gig in Florida when he opened for Lee Greenwood.

Now that Dan is a solo act, he's what he calls a "cause artist," meaning he writes songs that hold special meaning to him or promote a specific message. He also writes songs with the goal of raising money for certain organizations. In the past, his music has brought in money and awareness for the Hope Walk in Hillsboro, the Family & Children's Center in La Crosse, and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

In all, he says he's written 149 songs, a soundtrack to the movie Apache Blues Welcome Home, and a song nominated for a Grammy - all in the span of 10 years.

Thanks through a song

Following Dan's consultation with Dr. Shah, he was referred to surgery on his eye. Dr. Shah assured Dan that surgery wouldn't be difficult - but what comes after will be important. For a half hour every hour, Dan had to lay face down.

"It was during Christmas and during our 50^th anniversary, we couldn't go anywhere," Dan says. "I was just plain trapped in my home."

And that amount of time "trapped" at home gave Dan plenty of time to think - and in his case, write. He was so happy with his care at Emplify Health by Gundersen La Crosse Hospital that he decided to pen a song - in honor of Dr. Shah.

"He was very impressive, and he has an excellent supporting cast, I'll tell you that," Dan says. "He's not only professional, but he gives a hoot, because I was petrified. Quite frankly, I thought I was going blind."

He put those feelings into words:

"I'm an entertainer who couldn't see to sing / To them I was a patient, but I was treated like a king / I put my future in their hands, I hope I stand and testify / The place that gave me back my sight, that place was Emplify"

The fact that Dan could write and record the song, and each one thereafter, is something he doesn't take for granted.

"I really thought I was done, and in 45 days, this man brought my sight back," Dan says about why he wrote the song. "I think I wrote it out of gratitude."