Mike Veno's Medical Fund
Donation protected
I have started this page on behalf of my brother, Mike Veno. He was diagnosed with double hit lymphoma in August of 2015, an aggressive and rare type of lymphoma. We knew Mike was going to face a very difficult battle to beat the cancer. However, little did we know, the cancer would not present the biggest challenge for Mike during his treatment and recovery.
We are hoping to raise funds to have Mike sent to John Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland from MD Anderson in Houston, TX. We need to send Mike by AIR Ambulance, which is going to cost $15,000 to $18,000. In addition, this situation has placed a lot of financial stress on Mike and his wife, Dena. Mike has not worked for months and Dena has spent the last seven weeks in Houston, TX with Mike, and hasn’t been able to work much during that time. Even when Mike gets to Baltimore his road to recovery will be a long one with many more expenses to come.
Mike’s Story
Mike endured seven grueling rounds of chemotherapy between September and February. Months filled with constant nausea, fatigue, weight loss and escalating confusion, as is typical with chemotherapy treatments. These side effects had been anticipated by Mike, Dena, and their family. However, by the middle of February, Dena noticed a steady decline in Mike’s mental abilities. Every day was filled with one more task Mike could no longer perform. Her concern, along with the family’s, was that the cancer was spreading to his brain and that Mike would now need to undergo additional cancer treatments. How very wrong we all were!
When scans of Mike’s brain showed no signs of cancer, Dena and Mike’s doctors in Indiana continued to search for the answer to his to steady mental decline . At the suggestion of the medical staff working with Mike, he was moved to MD Anderson in Houston to find possible treatment options better suited to the mysterious illness taking over his body. On March 12th, Mike, Dena and their immediate family, packed up the car, and drove 13 hours to MD Anderson in Houston, where Mike was immediately admitted as a patient.
Mike’s admission to MD Anderson was just in nick of time, as his overall health was declining rapidly. By Monday, March 14th, Mike was unable to walk, feed himself, communicate or follow simple commands. Over the next several weeks Mike’s health declined even more. Doctors ran test after test, and tried various treatments to help Mike in regaining control of his body. Nothing worked. Mike completely lost the ability to move, speak clearly, eat or swallow. He developed pneumonia, infections at his intravenous sites, blood clots and suffered a collapsed lung. The doctors, perplexed by Mike’s symptoms and lack of response to treatments, could no offer definite answers or explanations.
In the meantime, one thing that doctors could determine, was the lymphoma in Mike’s abdomen appeared to be gone and was in remission. (But wait, we thought. He can’t talk, walk, eat or move - wasn’t Mike’s cancer remission supposed to be a joyous day of celebration?) . It was good news, but did not answer the daily question of, “what’s wrong with Mike and what’s next?”
Slowly over the next four weeks the doctors began to rule things out. They ruled out that the cancer had gone to his brain, and that there was any sort of underlying infection. The doctor’s new hypothesis was that Mike was suffering from an autoimmune disease. Even before they had any confirmed tests back, they began treating him for an autoimmune disorder. First, it was an IVIG treatment with no positive response. Next, came a high dose of steroids, but again no response. Mike was slipping away more and more. He completely stopped attempting to speak and he was never fully awake.
Mike finally did start to respond to a treatment called Plasmapheresis. He opened his eyes, which he hadn’t done in a week. He began to be able to hold his head up. However, he suffered several more setbacks. He developed blood clots, low blood pressure, sepsis, pneumonia (again) and MRSA. He was placed on a ventilator and in ICU. Finally, they had to perform a tracheotomy to ensure his breathing would be stable.
I tell you the story above so you will hopefully understand three things.
1. Mike has been through a tremendous amount in the past eight months and especially these past seven weeks.
2. Mike is an incredible fighter and we can’t give up on him.
3. Dena is one of the strongest people you will ever meet, and Mike is very lucky to have her by his side.
I ask you to donate whatever you can. I know collectively we can do great things. We are also asking for your prayers for Mike, we know God has touched this situation. Please share Mike’s story with anyone you think might be moved or inspired.
We are hoping to raise funds to have Mike sent to John Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland from MD Anderson in Houston, TX. We need to send Mike by AIR Ambulance, which is going to cost $15,000 to $18,000. In addition, this situation has placed a lot of financial stress on Mike and his wife, Dena. Mike has not worked for months and Dena has spent the last seven weeks in Houston, TX with Mike, and hasn’t been able to work much during that time. Even when Mike gets to Baltimore his road to recovery will be a long one with many more expenses to come.
Mike’s Story
Mike endured seven grueling rounds of chemotherapy between September and February. Months filled with constant nausea, fatigue, weight loss and escalating confusion, as is typical with chemotherapy treatments. These side effects had been anticipated by Mike, Dena, and their family. However, by the middle of February, Dena noticed a steady decline in Mike’s mental abilities. Every day was filled with one more task Mike could no longer perform. Her concern, along with the family’s, was that the cancer was spreading to his brain and that Mike would now need to undergo additional cancer treatments. How very wrong we all were!
When scans of Mike’s brain showed no signs of cancer, Dena and Mike’s doctors in Indiana continued to search for the answer to his to steady mental decline . At the suggestion of the medical staff working with Mike, he was moved to MD Anderson in Houston to find possible treatment options better suited to the mysterious illness taking over his body. On March 12th, Mike, Dena and their immediate family, packed up the car, and drove 13 hours to MD Anderson in Houston, where Mike was immediately admitted as a patient.
Mike’s admission to MD Anderson was just in nick of time, as his overall health was declining rapidly. By Monday, March 14th, Mike was unable to walk, feed himself, communicate or follow simple commands. Over the next several weeks Mike’s health declined even more. Doctors ran test after test, and tried various treatments to help Mike in regaining control of his body. Nothing worked. Mike completely lost the ability to move, speak clearly, eat or swallow. He developed pneumonia, infections at his intravenous sites, blood clots and suffered a collapsed lung. The doctors, perplexed by Mike’s symptoms and lack of response to treatments, could no offer definite answers or explanations.
In the meantime, one thing that doctors could determine, was the lymphoma in Mike’s abdomen appeared to be gone and was in remission. (But wait, we thought. He can’t talk, walk, eat or move - wasn’t Mike’s cancer remission supposed to be a joyous day of celebration?) . It was good news, but did not answer the daily question of, “what’s wrong with Mike and what’s next?”
Slowly over the next four weeks the doctors began to rule things out. They ruled out that the cancer had gone to his brain, and that there was any sort of underlying infection. The doctor’s new hypothesis was that Mike was suffering from an autoimmune disease. Even before they had any confirmed tests back, they began treating him for an autoimmune disorder. First, it was an IVIG treatment with no positive response. Next, came a high dose of steroids, but again no response. Mike was slipping away more and more. He completely stopped attempting to speak and he was never fully awake.
Mike finally did start to respond to a treatment called Plasmapheresis. He opened his eyes, which he hadn’t done in a week. He began to be able to hold his head up. However, he suffered several more setbacks. He developed blood clots, low blood pressure, sepsis, pneumonia (again) and MRSA. He was placed on a ventilator and in ICU. Finally, they had to perform a tracheotomy to ensure his breathing would be stable.
I tell you the story above so you will hopefully understand three things.
1. Mike has been through a tremendous amount in the past eight months and especially these past seven weeks.
2. Mike is an incredible fighter and we can’t give up on him.
3. Dena is one of the strongest people you will ever meet, and Mike is very lucky to have her by his side.
I ask you to donate whatever you can. I know collectively we can do great things. We are also asking for your prayers for Mike, we know God has touched this situation. Please share Mike’s story with anyone you think might be moved or inspired.
Organizer and beneficiary
Michele Veno Wagner
Organizer
Syracuse, NY
Dena Veno
Beneficiary