Help Keep Ken Alive!
Donation protected
Please Share.
Ken Wimberly, My Partner, My Bestfriend, My Love of my life was diagnosed with Mesothelioma 2 years ago. This type of cancer is not curable and is very aggressive.
Ken worked at a piping plant 20 years ago and all of the pipes were made with asbestos. Not given masks or any type of protective gear Ken was inhaling asbestos 12 hours a day cutting into the pipes. His father worked at this piping plant as well bringing this poison home on his clothes. Sadly Ken's father and mother passed from cancer.
When Ken and I were first told he had mesothelioma, his life expectancy was 6-8 months and there was nothing the doctors could do but chemo which would slow the tumor down. So, Ken started chemo. In the meantime, Not taking this information sitting down, we made phone calls to mesothelioma specialists around the country. We found Dr. Sugarbaker who was located in Boston. Living in Portland Oregon was not going to make it easy on us but we decided it was worth a second opinion.
Ken and I met with Dr. Sugarbaker who told us he could do surgery and remove the tumor. He also told us there was a small chance he would have to remove the lung.
When Ken woke up from surgery we found out the tumor was gone and so was his lung. This was such an intrusive awful surgery that Ken still has pain to this day. Some things done in surgery was the removal of a rib, and taking part of the lining of his heart, not to mention his lung!
Not only is the pain hard to control with pills, his breathing is very shallow and He can't lay down. Any pressure on his back or side compresses his lung to where he can't breathe.
So after weeks of recovery before Ken could fly home, he starts another round of chemo in portland. Each visit to the doctor turned out to be possitive. The cancer stayed in remission for a year.
Life at home was steady so I thought it was a good time to tell Ken I wanted to move closer to my family so I could have their love and support. Being a caregiver really takes a lot of strength and at that time I felt as though I was at bottoms end. Not only was this going to benefit me, Ken was going to go to one of the best, if not the best, Cancer centers in the world. Ohio State University, The James. So, Ken said OK! Let's do it!
Ken and I moved to Ohio April of 2014. We had a fairly decent time for the first 8 months. Since winter hit, Ken has been very sick and his breathing even more compromised. The doctors told us the mesothelioma is back. Feeling like we had been hit by a train for a second time, we found out the cancer was now in the lining of Ken's stomach. They said the mass tumor needs to be shrunk down before they can consider surgery.
So Ken is now on his second dose of chemo treatment since the cancer returned. 6 or 7 total treatments since this all went down.
This time the chemo has really knocked him down.
We go for an MRI the second week of April and talk to a surgeon. I will update this fund as events unfold.
Just know Ken is a tough cookie and We are not going to give up the fight against asbestos poisoning. There is going to be a cure and I was hoping you could help me keep Ken alive until then.
Ken is an artist, a musician, a hard worker, man of the house, a chef, a supporter, a healer and the best friend anyone could ask for. He loves life and loves his friends and family. Ken is going to be 47 on April 24th. He is so young and our relationship of almost 6 years is so young. I appreciate you taking the time to read this story and hopefully if there is anybody out there that can help us pay medical bills and medication bills we would appreciate you SO much and it would ease a bit of the pain in our family.
.
Ken Wimberly, My Partner, My Bestfriend, My Love of my life was diagnosed with Mesothelioma 2 years ago. This type of cancer is not curable and is very aggressive.
Ken worked at a piping plant 20 years ago and all of the pipes were made with asbestos. Not given masks or any type of protective gear Ken was inhaling asbestos 12 hours a day cutting into the pipes. His father worked at this piping plant as well bringing this poison home on his clothes. Sadly Ken's father and mother passed from cancer.
When Ken and I were first told he had mesothelioma, his life expectancy was 6-8 months and there was nothing the doctors could do but chemo which would slow the tumor down. So, Ken started chemo. In the meantime, Not taking this information sitting down, we made phone calls to mesothelioma specialists around the country. We found Dr. Sugarbaker who was located in Boston. Living in Portland Oregon was not going to make it easy on us but we decided it was worth a second opinion.
Ken and I met with Dr. Sugarbaker who told us he could do surgery and remove the tumor. He also told us there was a small chance he would have to remove the lung.
When Ken woke up from surgery we found out the tumor was gone and so was his lung. This was such an intrusive awful surgery that Ken still has pain to this day. Some things done in surgery was the removal of a rib, and taking part of the lining of his heart, not to mention his lung!
Not only is the pain hard to control with pills, his breathing is very shallow and He can't lay down. Any pressure on his back or side compresses his lung to where he can't breathe.
So after weeks of recovery before Ken could fly home, he starts another round of chemo in portland. Each visit to the doctor turned out to be possitive. The cancer stayed in remission for a year.
Life at home was steady so I thought it was a good time to tell Ken I wanted to move closer to my family so I could have their love and support. Being a caregiver really takes a lot of strength and at that time I felt as though I was at bottoms end. Not only was this going to benefit me, Ken was going to go to one of the best, if not the best, Cancer centers in the world. Ohio State University, The James. So, Ken said OK! Let's do it!
Ken and I moved to Ohio April of 2014. We had a fairly decent time for the first 8 months. Since winter hit, Ken has been very sick and his breathing even more compromised. The doctors told us the mesothelioma is back. Feeling like we had been hit by a train for a second time, we found out the cancer was now in the lining of Ken's stomach. They said the mass tumor needs to be shrunk down before they can consider surgery.
So Ken is now on his second dose of chemo treatment since the cancer returned. 6 or 7 total treatments since this all went down.
This time the chemo has really knocked him down.
We go for an MRI the second week of April and talk to a surgeon. I will update this fund as events unfold.
Just know Ken is a tough cookie and We are not going to give up the fight against asbestos poisoning. There is going to be a cure and I was hoping you could help me keep Ken alive until then.
Ken is an artist, a musician, a hard worker, man of the house, a chef, a supporter, a healer and the best friend anyone could ask for. He loves life and loves his friends and family. Ken is going to be 47 on April 24th. He is so young and our relationship of almost 6 years is so young. I appreciate you taking the time to read this story and hopefully if there is anybody out there that can help us pay medical bills and medication bills we would appreciate you SO much and it would ease a bit of the pain in our family.
.Organizer
Olivia Piper
Organizer
Columbus, OH
