Jacob's Medical Fund

Update (02/10/2020): Jacob has been admitted to the hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis. They’ve got his sugar under control but he will have to be here for a few days. He’s been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and will have to be on insulin. There’s a chance it could be reversed after he gets a liver transplant. We finally got insurance approval for the transplant. They sent the lab work over to Emory so he can be placed on the list. Please keep praying and donating. Every little bit helps and lord knows how expensive insulin is. Update (01/24/2020): At this time we are just waiting on the extremely slow process of insurance acceptance. We have done all necessary procedures and paperwork and have submitted it. Next step: getting on the list! Thanks to everybody’s prayers, Jacob is feeling a little better and has had a little more energy and has started working out again. Right now we are focused on staying healthy and not damaging his liver any further. The medical bills have officially started rolling through and are way more than we expected. We want to continue to give our thanks to all who have donated and shared. We appreciate each and every one of you. Update (10/16/2019): We finally have an official diagnosis: PSC. Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis. “It can eventually lead to liver failure, repeated infections, and tumors of the bile duct or liver. A liver transplant is the only known cure for advanced primary sclerosing cholangitis, but the disease may recur in the transplanted liver in a small number of patients.” - Mayo Clinic UPDATE (09/20/2019):  Jacob's "MELD" Score (ranking on the waiting list) has already went up one point in the last month. We are waiting on a few more appointments and another procedure before being placed on the list itself.  In August of 2016, Jacob had an emergency appendix removal. While removing the appendix, the surgeon noticed that Jacob's liver didn't look right so he did a liver biopsy as well. The results of the biopsy were not good. It showed serious cirrhosis. Cirrhosis, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is a late stage of scarring (fibrosis) of the liver caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions and cannot be undone. With this condition, each time your liver is damaged or injured, instead of repairing itself with healthy cells, more and more scar tissue is formed making the liver unable to function. Just 3 years later, in July of 2019, Jacob's liver condition had worsened. What felt like overnight, he turned extremely jaundice, lost his appetite, stopped sleeping throughout the night and was extremely itchy. By the end of July, he had lost 15 lbs. So we decided to look in to the next step. We were recommended to Emory University Medical Center in Atlanta and again, the results were not at all what we wanted to hear.  At the young age of 29, Jacob found out he needs a liver transplant and soon. With living 4 hours away from the hospital, we will have to stay in Atlanta, GA for up to 8 weeks after the transplant and return to the hospital up to 3 times a week for the first few months after the surgery. With the money from this GoFundMe account, we will be able to afford all transplant, stay, food & travel expenses as well as all of the medications he will have to continue taking and paying for at least 1 year after surgery.  Jacob is a wonderful and caring and otherwise healthy person.  He doesn't drink nor abuse other substances. He hasn't even had a chance to really live his life or have a future yet. Please help us give him another chance at a healthy life.