Andy’s Journey

On Saturday, May 9, 2021, I received a call no mother ever wants to get.

It was Saturday before Mother’s Day, and Andy called to tell me he’d been diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread up through his pelvic area and into his abdomen crushing and damaging his kidneys. The tumor was so large it was inoperable.

He was on his way to the hospital for a procedure called a Nefrostomy, where tubes will be inserted through his back into each kidney to try to regain function. A port was surgically implanted in his chest to receive the toxic chemotherapy drugs to come.

Tests showed his right kidney was damaged so badly it would never function again, however, his left one was brought back into near normal function.

In the days following he started seeing blood in his urine and soon blood clots blocked the Nefrostomy tubes into his kidneys and also blocked the urethra. Passing even the smallest of clots was extremely painful and soon required a catheter. Clots became so large that they blocked the catheter and a surgical procedure was required to clean clots out of the bladder. A clot the size of a brick was broken up and removed.

Unfortunately, clots continued to form so a surgery was necessary to install stents between kidneys and bladder. Then another surgical procedure was required to remove Nefrostomy tubes and catheter.

He had blood clots in his legs and intense swelling while the tumor was pressing on a nerve in his hip; which expressed in an excruciating pain in his right foot that left him crying out in pain. He lost his mobility and was bedridden.

Chemotherapy treatments started as soon as kidney function returned to L kidney and we both cried as he lost all his hair.

So many complications have derailed the goal of completing chemotherapy, the most recent when he tested positive for CDIFF. Now a 10 day course of powerful antibiotics will delay chemo again until his body can recover.

After the chemo is completed there will be multiple surgeries to remove the remaining tumor and ensure a cure.

Through all this he’s been a favorite of the nurses as he has always been so polite and respectful, remembering all their names and keeping a candy dish for them.

On July 9, we got the excellent news that a scan showed the tumor has shrunk by 50% with half of chemotherapy completed.

A lot is behind us but there are still many dangers in the days ahead.

any help is appreciated to cover travel expenses for the family and any medical bills that occur !! Thanks you so much for being a part of #AndysArmy !!