Aid Jeff DeCaigny's Fight for Health
My name is Jeff DeCaigny. I am a 42-year-old husband to Heather and father of 2 (Tanner and Izzy) and bonus dad of 2 (Zay and Ari). Thank you for reading my story.
On January 30th, 2025, I woke up with extreme abdominal pain, fever, along with several unsavory symptoms that I will spare you the details of. The pain I can only describe as feeling as if your intestines were exploding and nothing would bring relief. I would be admitted 5 times since then. During these stays, a multitude of tests were taken. I was first diagnosed with severe acute diverticulitis. Treatment failed as antibiotics were unable to clear the infection. I would end up being on those antibiotics for nearly 40 days. Trauma surgeons took over my case and scheduled a colon resection, which we opted to postpone for more conservative treatment, but this remains a real possibility if medicinal treatment fails.
I was able to get established with a GI team who ran a myriad of additional tests and have struggled to find a clear diagnosis. Due to conflicting test results, the doctors have been treating me presumptively for Crohn's disease and are currently referring me to Mayo Clinic Rochester's IBD clinic and to their colorectal surgeons for further treatment. I have now been on steroid treatment along with several other medications for the past month and a half. The current biologic treatment is very expensive; each infusion is over $21,000, but I do have insurance that covers some of that cost.
Due to the symptoms of this disease, the frequent hospitalizations, and the side effects of the blood infusion treatments, I have suffered a major loss of work that has affected our daily lives from simple supplies to keeping up with mortgage and vehicle payments. Any funds contributed will assist with daily expenses, lost wages, travel/lodging for multiple Mayo Clinic stays, and medical bills that have started to drown our family.
I have never been a person to ask for help like this and am still hesitant to ask, but any support is greatly appreciated as Heather and I both navigate through this health journey.
