Stage 4 Carcinoma Medical Expenses For Javier
Donation protected
Hi everybody,
My husband Javier Garcia had not been feeling “right” since early 2020. He had not been able to eat like he normally would and was constantly drinking Alka-Seltzer or mineral water to try and settle his stomach. He finally decided to go to our family doctor in February, when he was diagnosed with H-Pylori. He got treatment, but his symptoms continued. He was sent for a CT Scan that took 3 weeks to get approved because this is when the Covid-19 Pandemic began. The results found a Bezoar, which he got treatment for, but again his symptoms continued. The doctor scheduled an Endoscopic procedure that kept being rescheduled because by this time, we were in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Fast forward three months and still no Endoscopic procedure, by this time my husband had lost close to 70 pounds and was very weak and his eyes had started getting yellow and he was only able to handle a liquid diet. My husband had gotten so desperate to find a solution, that he decided that he had to go to Mexico to get the Endoscopic procedure (we live in Texas about 30 mins. away from the border). My heart ached with agony with the thought of him going to Mexico for the procedure with all the violence over there, but I was seeing my husband deteriorate day by day.
I was able to get a friend to drive him into Mexico to go get the procedure on Monday, April 27, 2020. He came back from Mexico feeling better because the gastrologist had drained some of the liquid in his stomach when he did the procedure. Early on Tuesday morning, the gastrologist from Mexico is calling me to take my husband back to Mexico because he needed surgery NOW! He told me that my husband had Stage 4 Carcinoma of the stomach and it was so aggressive that it could metastasize if he didn’t get surgery right away. Stage 4 Cancer, an aggressive tumor, was the furthest thing in our mind as the cause of all of my husband’s suffering. I was terrified!
I decided to call my oldest brother who is a nurse to see what I should do because my husband was so desperate at this point that he was willing to go to Mexico to have surgery. My brother told me to take him to the emergency room, We went to the emergency room and we got DENIED admission and we were told that we needed to see our U.S. gastrologist. I was devastated. We went back home and my husband’s mind was made up, he was going to Mexico tomorrow morning to have the surgery because he couldn’t take it anymore. I called my brother again and told him that they had denied us at the hospital. He gave me the name of a surgeon he knew and I called him the next day early in the morning while my husband slept.
The surgeon told me to take my husband back to the emergency room and tell them all the symptoms he had, but NOT to tell them that he had a diagnosis of cancer. He was finally admitted. By this time, my husband was so weak and dehydrated that it took 9 days to build up his strength with iv fluids, to get him stronger for surgery to try and remove the tumor which was blocking 90% of his small intestine which was preventing him from eating (hence the 70 lbs. lost).
The surgeon did a great job removing the tumor on May 7, 2020. My husband is finally getting his color back and has actually gained 15 pounds since his surgery. He has started Chemo treatments and is taking it very well with just a few side effects. He will be starting radiation along with chemo in July. He has had so many procedures, exams, scans, weekly blood work, iron infusion and medications and now radiation.
My husband has been an over-the-road truck driver for over 35 years and has not been able to work since all this began. He has a lot to deal with right now and the worry of the mounting medical bills and out of pocket expenses are the last thing I want him to worry about. I had no clue how much out of pocket expenses we have to meet and how expensive all this has been. He worries about the expenses and the fact that he hasn’t been able to work, but I tell him that his life is more important and even if I have to give $20.00 a week for the rest of my life to pay the bills, I’ll do it.
I have a love/hate relationship with Covid-19! I was so angry that because of Covid-19, my husband had suffered for so long with this disease and for him having to go risk his life in Mexico for the procedure. Yet, because I am a Pre-K teacher, I thank God that I was working from home because of Covid-19 and I am able to help him through all this. God knows what he does for us.
Please help me fight this ugly disease and give my kids and my grandson their Dad and Grandpa back to them. I want to say thank you for your generosity and compassion and May God Bless You!
Sincerely,
Claribel
My husband Javier Garcia had not been feeling “right” since early 2020. He had not been able to eat like he normally would and was constantly drinking Alka-Seltzer or mineral water to try and settle his stomach. He finally decided to go to our family doctor in February, when he was diagnosed with H-Pylori. He got treatment, but his symptoms continued. He was sent for a CT Scan that took 3 weeks to get approved because this is when the Covid-19 Pandemic began. The results found a Bezoar, which he got treatment for, but again his symptoms continued. The doctor scheduled an Endoscopic procedure that kept being rescheduled because by this time, we were in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Fast forward three months and still no Endoscopic procedure, by this time my husband had lost close to 70 pounds and was very weak and his eyes had started getting yellow and he was only able to handle a liquid diet. My husband had gotten so desperate to find a solution, that he decided that he had to go to Mexico to get the Endoscopic procedure (we live in Texas about 30 mins. away from the border). My heart ached with agony with the thought of him going to Mexico for the procedure with all the violence over there, but I was seeing my husband deteriorate day by day.
I was able to get a friend to drive him into Mexico to go get the procedure on Monday, April 27, 2020. He came back from Mexico feeling better because the gastrologist had drained some of the liquid in his stomach when he did the procedure. Early on Tuesday morning, the gastrologist from Mexico is calling me to take my husband back to Mexico because he needed surgery NOW! He told me that my husband had Stage 4 Carcinoma of the stomach and it was so aggressive that it could metastasize if he didn’t get surgery right away. Stage 4 Cancer, an aggressive tumor, was the furthest thing in our mind as the cause of all of my husband’s suffering. I was terrified!
I decided to call my oldest brother who is a nurse to see what I should do because my husband was so desperate at this point that he was willing to go to Mexico to have surgery. My brother told me to take him to the emergency room, We went to the emergency room and we got DENIED admission and we were told that we needed to see our U.S. gastrologist. I was devastated. We went back home and my husband’s mind was made up, he was going to Mexico tomorrow morning to have the surgery because he couldn’t take it anymore. I called my brother again and told him that they had denied us at the hospital. He gave me the name of a surgeon he knew and I called him the next day early in the morning while my husband slept.
The surgeon told me to take my husband back to the emergency room and tell them all the symptoms he had, but NOT to tell them that he had a diagnosis of cancer. He was finally admitted. By this time, my husband was so weak and dehydrated that it took 9 days to build up his strength with iv fluids, to get him stronger for surgery to try and remove the tumor which was blocking 90% of his small intestine which was preventing him from eating (hence the 70 lbs. lost).
The surgeon did a great job removing the tumor on May 7, 2020. My husband is finally getting his color back and has actually gained 15 pounds since his surgery. He has started Chemo treatments and is taking it very well with just a few side effects. He will be starting radiation along with chemo in July. He has had so many procedures, exams, scans, weekly blood work, iron infusion and medications and now radiation.
My husband has been an over-the-road truck driver for over 35 years and has not been able to work since all this began. He has a lot to deal with right now and the worry of the mounting medical bills and out of pocket expenses are the last thing I want him to worry about. I had no clue how much out of pocket expenses we have to meet and how expensive all this has been. He worries about the expenses and the fact that he hasn’t been able to work, but I tell him that his life is more important and even if I have to give $20.00 a week for the rest of my life to pay the bills, I’ll do it.
I have a love/hate relationship with Covid-19! I was so angry that because of Covid-19, my husband had suffered for so long with this disease and for him having to go risk his life in Mexico for the procedure. Yet, because I am a Pre-K teacher, I thank God that I was working from home because of Covid-19 and I am able to help him through all this. God knows what he does for us.
Please help me fight this ugly disease and give my kids and my grandson their Dad and Grandpa back to them. I want to say thank you for your generosity and compassion and May God Bless You!
Sincerely,
Claribel
Organizer
Claribel Garcia
Organizer
Mission, TX
