Life Saving Surgery For Father Of 3

My name is Jennifer and my husband and I are in desperate need of your help. We live in the Harrisburg, PA area and any assistance you could offer us will go towards covering his medical and living expenses not covered by his insurance during his critical operation. Jeremiah is a 31 year old, loving and devoted father of three little girls. In 2006, he suffered from severe DVT and PE’s, almost losing his life. Then again in 2012, he was admitted to the hospital with more blood clots and no real reasons for where they were coming from or how to fix the problem, just a lifelong Coumadin regimen starting at the young age of 21. In March of this year, he began what has become a worsening four month struggle just to breathe. He’s coughed up thousands of CC’s of blood that was inundating his lungs, had four hospitalizations, ICU stays, pulmonary embolization’s, extensive high radiation testing, blood transfusions and still he didn’t get any answers from the physicians. Through extensive consulting with the area’s best critical care physicians, hematologists and cardiothoracic surgeons the answer to his rapidly deteriorating condition is finally clear. Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension is a rare form of severe pulmonary hypertension, a health condition that results when the arteries carrying blood to the lungs are constricted, disrupting blood flow. Blood must travel through the lungs to pick up oxygen that it can deliver to all the organs, muscles, and tissue in the body. When the arteries between the heart and lungs become narrowed or flow is constricted, the heart has to work overtime to pump blood to the lungs. Over time, the heart can grow weak and circulation will diminish throughout the body and eventually lead to death due to right ventricular heart failure.It’s a progressive disease, which means that it can advance quickly. If left untreated, the disease can be life threatening within a couple of years. In cases where it goes untreated, the long-term outlook is grim. There is a 68 percent chance of survival after one year. The survival odds drop to 34 percent after five years.In order to survive this condition, Jeremiah will have to travel across the country, from Pennsylvania to California. The UCSD Medical Center's cardiothoracic surgery department is the only qualified hospital to perform such a surgery. They have performed more PTEs than the rest of the world combined (over 3,000 since 1970 out of a total of 4,500 worldwide) with the lowest mortality rate. The surgeons are currently vying to have his insurance cover the procedure out of state because there are no qualified surgeons who can perform the surgery on the east coast. Even if his insurance will cover the procedure out of network, Jeremiah and his wife will both lose months of income, and still have to cover the bills in PA while they’re in CA so they don’t lose their home. Additionally, they have travel expenses with extra oxygen therapy expenses, childcare expenses, food, lodging, medications, recovery supplies and care, etc. The pulmonary thromboendarterectomy is an 8-10 hour surgery. His chest will be opened through his sternum. During the procedure, Jeremiah’s heart will be stopped and he will be clinically dead for approximately 40 minutes after being forced into hypothermia to preserve his brain and organs while they operate. If the surgery goes as planned, he will have an extensive 3 week stay in ICU to recovery enough to travel back home. It is vital that Jeremiah be able to have this surgery as soon as possible, as his condition is rapidly deteriorating. His family has had to struggle with not having the financial means to save his life and is devastatingly facing the consequences of having three little girls lose their father. Jeremiah is and has always been unbelievably brave throughout the past ten years of medical struggles. He focuses on trying to make everyone else feel safe and at ease and he never lets negativity get the better of him. He’s a man who will cough up so much blood and nearly lose all ability to just breathe while his heart starts failing, with doctors and nurses frenzied all around him trying to save his life, instead of focusing on his pain and struggle, in gasped breaths his words are “I’m okay, don’t worry, I’m going to be alright.” Any help you can offer Jeremiah and his family is immeasurably appreciated. Even if you can’t make any financial contributions, please share this story, re-post his fundraiser, help get the word out to as many people as possible.