Devin's Medical Expenses

Hi, I'm Angelique Neisen, and the man in this picture is my dad, Devin Neisen.

I’m sure many of you who clicked on this fundraiser know who Devin Neisen is. To some of you, he may just be an acquaintance, an old classmate, a friend, a cousin, a coworker, or a distant relative. But for me, he’s “dad.” Anyone who knows Devin knows that he is, without a doubt, one of the hardest-working men there is. Above all else in his life, he has always put providing for his family first and himself second. Throughout my entire life, I have watched my dad sacrifice his time and his body to his work, whether it be farming or construction. Thanks to those sacrifices, I never had to worry about things like having a roof over my head, food on the table, or having to work to help pay bills or rent. My dad is a man who has always prided himself on his work and his ability to support the people he cares about.

So, it goes without saying that these past few months have been tough for him. What started as a simple visit to the hospital for abdominal pain abruptly turned into a cancer diagnosis. In mid-September of this year, Devin was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. The doctor informed us that without any treatment, he would not only continue to be in immense pain, but would also be lucky to have even months left to live. It is unclear just how long the cancer had been present, but as it usually is with pancreatic cancer, it has notoriously vague symptoms and can be incredibly difficult to catch in the early stages. And unfortunately, my dad found himself in the terminal stage. There is a large lesion on his pancreas that continues to spread even now, and there are also smaller masses that have been found on his liver and lungs. At this point, any hope for surgery has been completely ruled out.

After his first night being sent home from the hospital for his abdominal pain, and before his official cancer diagnosis, Devin returned to the hospital for chest pain and trouble breathing. He quickly discovered he had a large pulmonary embolism in each lung. He had experienced shooting pain in his calf while working the week prior, so the doctors believed that he had a massive DVT that traveled into his lungs due to the blood clotting notoriously caused by pancreatic cancer. Fortunately, they didn’t have to operate on him, but we were told that the embolisms could take months to fully dissolve. Since then, Devin has been trying to recover from his embolism while taking blood thinners, and has taken three rounds of chemotherapy to attempt slowing the growth of the cancer as well.

Devin has been back to the hospital multiple times since starting chemo, as it has been very hard on his body. He has currently stopped his treatments for the time being since his physical state has gotten so poor. He has neuropathy in his right side which makes it hard for him to use his dominant hand, meaning he struggles to grasp things, write, and hold silverware. His weight has dropped down to the 140s, and he struggles to take in enough calories daily. He is currently still struggling with pain management, and the recent upping of his pain medication dosages has resulted in side effects such as tinnitus, dry mouth, constipation, lack of appetite, and mental fog/confusion. Due to the combination of medications and lack of proper nutrition, Devin has begun to experience dementia-like symptoms, and struggles with confusion and communication at times.

Currently, he is not doing very well. Things have been seeming to decline quickly, but we are still holding out hope that he can get on the right balance on medications and bounce back enough to clear his mental fog and live out the remainder of his days comfortably.

Devin is currently living back at home with his parents, and because he is still paying off debts, can no longer work, and will need roughly 4-5 more months to get on disability, money is incredibly tight. Despite being the victim in this situation, my dad feels that he is a burden because of this, and fears leaving behind debt from medical expenses after he passes. So, we discussed making this fundraiser a month or so ago and received his approval. My dad is not one to ever ask for money; however, this situation is an exception, as there don’t seem to be any other readily available financial options for us.

That being said, ANY donation, no matter how small, would mean the world to us. We already know that my dad’s cancer is too far along to have any hope of remission. All we want is for him to have one less thing to worry about, so that he can focus wholly on taking care of himself and living as comfortably as possible for however long he has left. My dad is, and has always been, a fighter. I want to hope and pray that he can pull through longer than we're expecting, but I know that it is not a guarantee.

All donations will go to help fund Devin’s medical treatments, pay off his medical bills, help with his current living expenses and any other miscellaneous payments he may need help with (phone bills, transportation/gas, etc.). Me and my family will see to it that every penny goes to helping Devin in some way, and I will continue to make updates regarding Devin’s medical status.

It has taken me a long time to even decide where to begin with writing this, because I have so much I could say. But where do you even start with something like this? I don't want to lose my dad, but that isn't something I can control. However, by making this fundraiser for him, I can at least attempt to pay him back for all the support he's given me over the years.

I have a habit of rambling on, so I apologize for making you read so much; I couldn’t bring myself to make this any shorter. I could go on for days about how unfair this situation is, how my dad doesn’t deserve this, and how much your donations would mean for my family. But for now, I will finally try to be concise and simply say thank you for your time. And please, keep my dad in your thoughts.