Asher Bernards

Hi, my name is Kelli and I’m a friend of Asher’s dad Neal. I work with Neal at American Airlines. I begged Neal to start this page to give people a place to reach out and help this amazing family during this really hard time. Asher is fighting a very severe case of Ulcerative Colitis. Asher and his dad did start a Caring Bridge where you can read up on all the health issues and his fight with monster disease. If you like to donate to help out this amazing young man please do so. This is a very tough time both physically and medically and financially.

Asher's story is written by Neal Bernards (aka, father): On July 27, 2022 Asher had a colonoscopy to determine why his gastrointestinal (GI) tract was giving him trouble. He'd been going to the bathroom 30-40 times a day and losing blood with every bowel movement. The colonoscopy revealed a severe case of ulcerative colitis (UC). UC is an auto-immune disease where the body attacks one's colon. Doctors aren't certain why this happens, though there's thought that it may be heredity.  Asher had battled GI troubles since his sophomore year of college in 2017, though nothing close to this extent.  After the UC diagnosis he was put on a steroid to suppress his body's attack on the colon. It didn't work. At his follow-up appointment on August 10th Asher's primary GI doctor took one look at him and said, "We're going to need to admit you to the hospital." Neither Asher nor I expected this. "Are we talking next week?" we asked. "No, now," replied the doc. "It's obvious the steroids aren't working." So we drove Asher to his apartment, gathered a few items, and admitted him to North Memorial Hospital for what we thought would be a few days. Sixteen days later Asher was finally released after regulating his bowel movements to "only" ten a day. At North he received more steroids, IV fluids to combat his dehydration, and the biologic drug Remicade.  When Asher went fishing with us in Canada in June he weighed 210 pounds. Today, on a good day, he weighs 146. His current diet consists of the blandest, most non-fibrous food imaginable (white bread, white rice. peanut butter, chicken breasts, bananas, mushy carrots skinless potatoes, etc.). He supplements this monotonous diet with Boost. While his weight has stabilized it has not increased. Very few nutrients are absorbed by his body because it passes through so quickly.  Asher has now received four doses of Remicade and four doses of IV iron to boost his hemoglobin, mostly to little avail. Two weeks ago he received two units of blood and a B12 shot when his hemoglobin count fell well below seven (normal is 13-16). In the coming week he's to receive two more infusions of IV iron and another Remicade dose.  We've switched hospitals from North Memorial to Abbott Northwestern due to proximity, comfort of beds, quality of food selection (according to Asher), and access to $2.04 Starbucks from an automated machine in the cafe.   Despite his travails, Asher remains in good, albeit resigned, spirits and grateful for a strong support network (fiance Monica, especially). He stopped working at 3M in July. Since he's a contract worker he's received no income since then.  Thankfully, he has another year on our excellent health care coverage through American Airlines (the world's largest airline, in case you wondered).  I (Neal) recently dropped to part-time status at work for reasons other than Asher, though it's worked out well so I can serve as his medical chauffeur for the twice-weekly medical appointments that invariably pop up. Asher is not strong enough to drive himself. Sixteen days in a hospital bed will do that. Our hope is that Asher keeps his colon, though he has a very long road ahead. Your positive thoughts and prayers are deeply appreciated.  PS: We didn't mean to alarm anyone. Asher will recover from UC. We just wanted a central location from which to dispense information because our friends and relatives are so kind and caring y'all inquire consistently about his condition.