Joe Sheffield's Medical Fund
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Joe's life dramatically changed with a new colostomy, 10 inches of his colon removed, and a life threatening infection after what he thought was just a bad stomach ache. Here is the full story on Joe's battle:
Wednesday July 8th Joe Sheffield (Little Joe) was admitted to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia for Abdominal Pain and an extremely high fever.
After a CT scan he was diagnosed with air in his abdomen due to a perforated colon from diverticulitis and an infection. This means that part of his colon has opened up leaking bacteria into the abdomen causing an infection. Little Joe was quickly started on IV antibiotics and was not allowed to eat or drink anything.
Thursday to Sunday Joe continued to battle fevers and a lot of pain. He continued the around the clock antibiotics and resting his stomach in hopes of preventing surgery. Sunday’s repeat CT scan did not bring the results all of Joe’s family and friends were hoping for. The infection and inflammation remained severe and the air had not resolved.
Monday surgery planning began for Tuesday morning. The physicians mentioned worst case scenarios but planned to go in through his belly button and patch up the leak. The surgeon said "In my career I have only seen one other patient as young as you with this and that was before CT scans were at every hospital".
Tuesday July 14th surrounded by his wife, Katie, and family Joe headed in for surgery. Unfortunately the inflammation and infection was much worse than anticipated. The surgeons made the tough decisions to remove 10 inches of Joe’s colon, formed a temporary colostomy, and removed his appendix. During surgery they also placed another IV so that he could receive IV nutrition afterwards and a NG Tube for him to rest his stomach.
On top of the post surgical pain Joe HATED that NG tube! The faster his stomach would wake up the quicker that tube could come out. It is not uncommon for your stomach to stay asleep from the anesthesia. Day after day everyone anxiously awaited Joe’s stomach to wake up. Nothing! Joe walked the halls of the 6th floor trying to stimulate his stomach to wake up.
Saturday Joe had more emotional and physical hurdle to overcome. The surgeon came in and wanted to open up his incision because it was beginning to look infected like the inside of his abdomen. Now with an open incision they began packing. Not just daily but three times a day while they waited for a wound vac to arrive. After the pain settled there was some good news. Joe could possibly have the NG Tube out. Joe and his family waited for the 4 hours to pass to see if he could tolerate it being turned off. 1:30 PM the NG tube FINALLY came out! Though the tube was out Joe was still receiving IV nutrition.Now all Joe had holding him back from home was having output in his colostomy and tolerate eating.
Finally on Sunday Joe had output from his colostomy! Discharge planning began for Tuesday. Thankfully no other obstacles occurred and Joe was able to discharge on Tuesday the 21st after nearly two weeks in the hospital.
Two days later Joe was back in the ER. Not for stomach pain but leg pain. Joe was diagnosed with a blood clot behind his knee. Thankfully they were able to set up blood thinners and send him home fairly quickly.
We wanted to share all of the details that this family has endured so you can understand the road they have ahead of them. The wound vac will stay on until the infection clears which the doctors will take day by day. The colostomy will require daily care then 6 months from now Joe will have to undergo another surgery to reverse it back. With hospitals charging 58 dollars for a Tylenol it is no surprise the IV nutrition Joe received cost 13,000 dollars a day!
Joe and Katie are two of the best people anyone has ever met and have remained to keep a positive attitude. Along with their family they have turned to God for more support. They believe everything happens for a reason and will come out of this better. The Sheffields would do anything for their family and friends and it is our turn to do the same. The money raised will go to help with medical bills. We greatly appreciate any donations and will fully support Joe on his path to recovery.
Wednesday July 8th Joe Sheffield (Little Joe) was admitted to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia for Abdominal Pain and an extremely high fever.
After a CT scan he was diagnosed with air in his abdomen due to a perforated colon from diverticulitis and an infection. This means that part of his colon has opened up leaking bacteria into the abdomen causing an infection. Little Joe was quickly started on IV antibiotics and was not allowed to eat or drink anything.
Thursday to Sunday Joe continued to battle fevers and a lot of pain. He continued the around the clock antibiotics and resting his stomach in hopes of preventing surgery. Sunday’s repeat CT scan did not bring the results all of Joe’s family and friends were hoping for. The infection and inflammation remained severe and the air had not resolved.
Monday surgery planning began for Tuesday morning. The physicians mentioned worst case scenarios but planned to go in through his belly button and patch up the leak. The surgeon said "In my career I have only seen one other patient as young as you with this and that was before CT scans were at every hospital".
Tuesday July 14th surrounded by his wife, Katie, and family Joe headed in for surgery. Unfortunately the inflammation and infection was much worse than anticipated. The surgeons made the tough decisions to remove 10 inches of Joe’s colon, formed a temporary colostomy, and removed his appendix. During surgery they also placed another IV so that he could receive IV nutrition afterwards and a NG Tube for him to rest his stomach.
On top of the post surgical pain Joe HATED that NG tube! The faster his stomach would wake up the quicker that tube could come out. It is not uncommon for your stomach to stay asleep from the anesthesia. Day after day everyone anxiously awaited Joe’s stomach to wake up. Nothing! Joe walked the halls of the 6th floor trying to stimulate his stomach to wake up.
Saturday Joe had more emotional and physical hurdle to overcome. The surgeon came in and wanted to open up his incision because it was beginning to look infected like the inside of his abdomen. Now with an open incision they began packing. Not just daily but three times a day while they waited for a wound vac to arrive. After the pain settled there was some good news. Joe could possibly have the NG Tube out. Joe and his family waited for the 4 hours to pass to see if he could tolerate it being turned off. 1:30 PM the NG tube FINALLY came out! Though the tube was out Joe was still receiving IV nutrition.Now all Joe had holding him back from home was having output in his colostomy and tolerate eating.
Finally on Sunday Joe had output from his colostomy! Discharge planning began for Tuesday. Thankfully no other obstacles occurred and Joe was able to discharge on Tuesday the 21st after nearly two weeks in the hospital.
Two days later Joe was back in the ER. Not for stomach pain but leg pain. Joe was diagnosed with a blood clot behind his knee. Thankfully they were able to set up blood thinners and send him home fairly quickly.
We wanted to share all of the details that this family has endured so you can understand the road they have ahead of them. The wound vac will stay on until the infection clears which the doctors will take day by day. The colostomy will require daily care then 6 months from now Joe will have to undergo another surgery to reverse it back. With hospitals charging 58 dollars for a Tylenol it is no surprise the IV nutrition Joe received cost 13,000 dollars a day!
Joe and Katie are two of the best people anyone has ever met and have remained to keep a positive attitude. Along with their family they have turned to God for more support. They believe everything happens for a reason and will come out of this better. The Sheffields would do anything for their family and friends and it is our turn to do the same. The money raised will go to help with medical bills. We greatly appreciate any donations and will fully support Joe on his path to recovery.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jillian Bishop
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
Joe Sheffield
Beneficiary
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