Where there's a Will there's a way
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Where there’s a Will there’s a way.
He thought he was getting old. He thought he had an infection. He thought he got a parasite from rafting the Nile. We named the growth they saw on the scan “Sponge Bob,” because there was no way could it be anything serious.
After all, Will is one of the healthiest, kindest, most resilient people we all know. Right?
Well, it turns out we missed all the signs, and “Sponge Bob” is in fact “aggressive and dangerous” bladder cancer. At least those were the words the urologist used the day before Will’s birthday, on Oct 19 to inform us that the results of the biopsy Will had the week before is, in fact, Carcinoma.
The shock was so hard to comprehend that Will laughed. “I never expected those words to come out of your mouth,” he said. Wide-eyed, and shocked I stopped breathing and cried. How could it be possible that Will Kidd, my kind, funny, adventurous, healthy, Energizer Bunny husband could have cancer? I never even knew there was such a thing as bladder cancer in someone so young.
So, as much as I try to deny it each day, it’s time for us to let our friends know that for the last four months Will has been living with Cancer and has been going through Chemo.
The good news is he got to keep his beautiful hair. The bad news is he won’t get to keep his bladder.
That day In October, when Will was diagnosed with “aggressive and dangerous” bladder cancer, the doctor’s monologue went like this: “Well, you have cancer, it’s aggressive and dangerous, it’s progressed into the muscle wall…. you will be starting Chemo next week and then you’re going to Vanderbilt and having your bladder removed….”
That was it. Clear, straightforward, cut and dried. “This is your path to be cancer free.”
To Will, those words came at us in slow motion; to me it was all in one swift breath. And as much as I want this story to be different every day, it’s not going to be. I’ve never in my life been faced with a problem I couldn’t come up with multiple creative solutions to fix, but not this. No matter how many ways I ask the question, the only path to Will becoming “cancer free” is taking his bladder out.
So, this week, Will completes his last round of chemo, and on March 8, he will be having his bladder removed. By removing his bladder, which is officially known as “radical intervention,” he is going for a cure. His surgeon, Dr. Chang, is with Vanderbilt Medical Center and I am grateful that he is one of the world’s best surgeons in the world at performing this very uncommon and radical procedure. The procedure requires Dr. Chang to remove Will’s bladder, and make him a new one from part of his small intestine.
This surgery is expected to take up to 8 hours and the expectation is that Will is going be in the hospital for 10-14 days for the procedure. Once he returns home, if healing goes smoothly, he’ll be “down for the count,” and unable to work for 2-3 months. Learning how to use that new bladder and all the organs it’s interconnected with will require months of rehab following surgery, and full recovery can take up to 12 months for his body to heal completely.
So, as strong as Will is, chemo has been exhausting and recovery from this radical procedure will take quite a long time and a lot of patience.
This is the reason I am reaching out here for help.
As business owners we pay for our own health insurance, and being healthy, we carry only what is called “catastrophic” insurance. As of today, we have $30,000 in medical bills accruing.
Due to Covid, me staying in Nashville while he is in the hospital for two weeks will require staying at a hotel or Airbnb. I cannot simply stay with friends or at the hospital. Fourteen or more days of sleeping and eating, as far as I can tell will add up to at least $2,000 just for me to be there with him.
We are working out ways to keep the estate sale business going as he gets further into his recovery, but for the first 2-3 months, he needs to focus on healing and getting strong again, He is expected to lose 20-30 lbs. just from the calories required to get through this procedure and heal. And I know already that I need to be available 100% to be caring for him.
With the already accrued medical bills, the travel expenses, unknown follow ups, home rehab, whatever drug for a drug regimen he will require and his inability to work for two months or more, there will be no income during those months to cover our daily living expenses, on top of the bills that are rolling in.
My hope is to take all the financial pressure off his mind and body, so that all Will needs to focus on his healing. The only way I know I know to do this is to ask for help.
As we have all experienced, Will touches so many lives, he’s kind, he works hard and has so much more to give…
I want to be 100% focused on him in the first critical months of his recovery, and I want to alleviate the burden of worry – worry about how we’ll cover the loss of income and the medical bills – so we can put our energy into healing. I’m hoping to raise $65,000 to cover the medical care and get us through.
He’s always been the giver, and he’s not used to asking for help. Yet, he’s done so much for so many people, I’m hoping that depth of love and kindness will come back to him now. Anything you can give will be so appreciated, and gratefully applied to our expenses.
Will and I will be married 30 years at the end of April. We’ve been partners and worked through a lot of life together. We will also face this as a team. My hope and vision is for us to celebrate our 30-year anniversary with him Cancer free and strong again.
I know we’ll get through this…I know it because he’s Will. And, truly, as we know- where there’s a Will there’s a way!
Jeanne
PS: I’ll post updates here, but if you want more information and updates about his recovery, please check our Caring Bridge site: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/youvereachedthekidds
He thought he was getting old. He thought he had an infection. He thought he got a parasite from rafting the Nile. We named the growth they saw on the scan “Sponge Bob,” because there was no way could it be anything serious.
After all, Will is one of the healthiest, kindest, most resilient people we all know. Right?
Well, it turns out we missed all the signs, and “Sponge Bob” is in fact “aggressive and dangerous” bladder cancer. At least those were the words the urologist used the day before Will’s birthday, on Oct 19 to inform us that the results of the biopsy Will had the week before is, in fact, Carcinoma.
The shock was so hard to comprehend that Will laughed. “I never expected those words to come out of your mouth,” he said. Wide-eyed, and shocked I stopped breathing and cried. How could it be possible that Will Kidd, my kind, funny, adventurous, healthy, Energizer Bunny husband could have cancer? I never even knew there was such a thing as bladder cancer in someone so young.
So, as much as I try to deny it each day, it’s time for us to let our friends know that for the last four months Will has been living with Cancer and has been going through Chemo.
The good news is he got to keep his beautiful hair. The bad news is he won’t get to keep his bladder.
That day In October, when Will was diagnosed with “aggressive and dangerous” bladder cancer, the doctor’s monologue went like this: “Well, you have cancer, it’s aggressive and dangerous, it’s progressed into the muscle wall…. you will be starting Chemo next week and then you’re going to Vanderbilt and having your bladder removed….”
That was it. Clear, straightforward, cut and dried. “This is your path to be cancer free.”
To Will, those words came at us in slow motion; to me it was all in one swift breath. And as much as I want this story to be different every day, it’s not going to be. I’ve never in my life been faced with a problem I couldn’t come up with multiple creative solutions to fix, but not this. No matter how many ways I ask the question, the only path to Will becoming “cancer free” is taking his bladder out.
So, this week, Will completes his last round of chemo, and on March 8, he will be having his bladder removed. By removing his bladder, which is officially known as “radical intervention,” he is going for a cure. His surgeon, Dr. Chang, is with Vanderbilt Medical Center and I am grateful that he is one of the world’s best surgeons in the world at performing this very uncommon and radical procedure. The procedure requires Dr. Chang to remove Will’s bladder, and make him a new one from part of his small intestine.
This surgery is expected to take up to 8 hours and the expectation is that Will is going be in the hospital for 10-14 days for the procedure. Once he returns home, if healing goes smoothly, he’ll be “down for the count,” and unable to work for 2-3 months. Learning how to use that new bladder and all the organs it’s interconnected with will require months of rehab following surgery, and full recovery can take up to 12 months for his body to heal completely.
So, as strong as Will is, chemo has been exhausting and recovery from this radical procedure will take quite a long time and a lot of patience.
This is the reason I am reaching out here for help.
As business owners we pay for our own health insurance, and being healthy, we carry only what is called “catastrophic” insurance. As of today, we have $30,000 in medical bills accruing.
Due to Covid, me staying in Nashville while he is in the hospital for two weeks will require staying at a hotel or Airbnb. I cannot simply stay with friends or at the hospital. Fourteen or more days of sleeping and eating, as far as I can tell will add up to at least $2,000 just for me to be there with him.
We are working out ways to keep the estate sale business going as he gets further into his recovery, but for the first 2-3 months, he needs to focus on healing and getting strong again, He is expected to lose 20-30 lbs. just from the calories required to get through this procedure and heal. And I know already that I need to be available 100% to be caring for him.
With the already accrued medical bills, the travel expenses, unknown follow ups, home rehab, whatever drug for a drug regimen he will require and his inability to work for two months or more, there will be no income during those months to cover our daily living expenses, on top of the bills that are rolling in.
My hope is to take all the financial pressure off his mind and body, so that all Will needs to focus on his healing. The only way I know I know to do this is to ask for help.
As we have all experienced, Will touches so many lives, he’s kind, he works hard and has so much more to give…
I want to be 100% focused on him in the first critical months of his recovery, and I want to alleviate the burden of worry – worry about how we’ll cover the loss of income and the medical bills – so we can put our energy into healing. I’m hoping to raise $65,000 to cover the medical care and get us through.
He’s always been the giver, and he’s not used to asking for help. Yet, he’s done so much for so many people, I’m hoping that depth of love and kindness will come back to him now. Anything you can give will be so appreciated, and gratefully applied to our expenses.
Will and I will be married 30 years at the end of April. We’ve been partners and worked through a lot of life together. We will also face this as a team. My hope and vision is for us to celebrate our 30-year anniversary with him Cancer free and strong again.
I know we’ll get through this…I know it because he’s Will. And, truly, as we know- where there’s a Will there’s a way!
Jeanne
PS: I’ll post updates here, but if you want more information and updates about his recovery, please check our Caring Bridge site: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/youvereachedthekidds
Organizer
Jeanne Kidd
Organizer
Knoxville, TN