Support the Dunn Family

Hi, my name is Kristen Phillips, and I have been friends with Jackie, Tony, and family for over 30 years! A few weeks ago, their son Trey had a bicycle accident, which landed him in the hospital with damage to his pancreas. Trey has been in the hospital for two weeks and is unsure when he will get home. He has had multiple procedures and surgeries since being there. They discovered yesterday that there was also damage to his colon and required another surgery. After yesterday's surgery, he has a colostomy bag and will have this for 2-3 months. If this surgery were the proper fix, Trey would still have to have two follow-up procedures to remove the stent from procedure #1 and the other to reconnect his colon and remove the bag. This will require a lot of supplies over the next few months. Jackie and Tony have not left his side since he's been in the hospital, except to run home to grab a few things. Because of this, Jackie has been unable to work, and if she doesn't work, she doesn't get paid. So, I decided that something needed to be done to help support them while they were helping support Trey! Please consider helping out! The funds will be used to pay bills, supplies Trey will need once he is home from the hospital, and meals they need while in the hospital and once they are home.

Here is more about the story below from Jackies Facebook:

What started Friday evening still doesn't have an end in sight yet.

Friday evening Trey was riding his bike with a neighborhood friend, flipping off the bike and landing on the handlebars right in his abdomen. He had a nice bruise on his left ribcage and was complaining about the pain.

After waking up twice to throw up, we got him in the car and went to Mercy Jefferson...at 1:30 am.

We were expecting x-rays, a cracked rib diagnosis, a script for pain meds, and bed rest.

What we got was...CT scan, IV, asked for our preference of children's hospital, ambulance transport request, and a lacerated pancreas diagnosis!

We arrived at Cardinal Glennon around 5:30-6:00 am and spent 12 hours in the ER waiting to be admitted to a room. Meanwhile, there were conversations with the trauma surgeon, deciding on the course of action, tears from all 3 of us, and a lot of waiting.

Then we were reminded how lucky we still were as the room right next to us turned chaotic as they worked to try bringing back an 18-month-old that had been unresponsive. We listened to chest compressions and pulse checks, and finally, the time of death was called. A mother screams down the hallway, crying over his little body, trying to hold him.

Trey had one procedure to try and repair his pancreas performed next door by the GI specialist at SLU hospital. It was partially successful, but he may still have to have a more traditional surgery if complications (which are very common) arise.

Even once we go home, which is still undetermined, we still have the possibility of coming back for the other surgery or a drain tube. The pancreas is quite a demanding organ.

It may take weeks for him to be healed entirely, but I'll still get to take my son home with me. There is always something to be grateful for. And even through all this, we are so very appreciative. A great team of nurses, fantastic surgical teams here at Cardinal Glennon and SLU, and so much love and support from family, friends, and church family.

As soon as I know more, I'll share, but we are "watching and waiting" for now.

The Saga of Trey and the Angry Pancreas- part 2

Well, he was not improving from the first procedure the way the trauma surgeon wanted so he will have a laparoscopic surgery tomorrow. As I said yesterday, the pancreas is super picky, so there is a certain level of risk and complications that could arise. Recovery and complete healing will be very lengthy.

Any prayers are very much appreciated.

Meanwhile, several beautiful views have been from various areas of the hospital.

The Saga of Trey and the Angry Pancreas - part 3

Today was surgery day. We were scheduled for 8:40 am. They didn't come to get Trey until about 11:30 am. We got to go down with him and stay with him until they took him back to get the anesthesia going. That's when I had my first official breakdown of this whole saga.

I got the first phone call around 12:30, saying they had started 15-20 minutes ago and that Trey was doing fine. The next call came at 2:45

saying they were getting close to being done and Trey was still doing great.

An hour later, the doctor came in. He said everything went well. Before the surgery, we had been told about a couple of concerns they had, and we had to consent if those situations occurred.

1. Consent for doing the whole opening if they couldn't accomplish what they needed to laparoscopically.

2. The spleen may have to be removed. The blood supply to the spleen is right behind the damaged part of the pancreas. If they nipped it or damaged any blood vessels, they would have to remove it.

The doctor was filling us in. He said it was pretty bad once they got in there. As soon as he made the first incision into Trey's belly, pancreatic fluid started pouring out. There was so much that they couldn't find the pancreas at first. Five different times he almost made a full incision. The torn part was already dying, and the tissue on the healthy side was too damaged. He couldn't use staples to close it.

But...God is so good, and...he never had to make a big incision! His spleen is intact and undamaged! He was able to stitch up the healthy part of the pancreas! I can't thank you all enough for praying for my son!

He has a tube from his nose to his stomach to suck out fluid and a drain in his left side to remove excess fluid in his abdominal cavity.

His recovery could take 1-2 weeks in the hospital before we even take Trey home. So in the meantime, our dinners will look a lot like this.

The Saga of Trey and the Angry Pancreas - part 4

Slow and steady wins the race. Because I feel like we take two steps forward and one step back. Yesterday was not a good day. Lots of pain, SO many trips to the bathroom and no food interest.

Towards the end of the day, we finally could pinpoint his pain as bowel cramping and not necessarily post-op pain. So the doctor added another medicine, stopping the cramping for a few hours, but we still went to the bathroom. All. Night. Long. I started keeping track at 9 pm...14 times by 6 am.

But, Halloween was celebrated by the whole hospital. Doctors and nurses in costumes and different departments went around dropping books and other goodies in bags that every door had hung.

Today has been better! Not as much pain, he got his exercises done by about 2:30 (with the help of Thor, the hospital therapy dog), and he's slowly starting to eat!

We shall see what tomorrow brings! Praying it's another step forward!

The Saga of Trey and the Angry Pancreas - part 5

Thirteen days in the hospital and three procedures/surgeries.

Yesterday was rough, leading to an even more turbulent time overnight. His belly started filling with pancreatic fluid again, causing him awful pain. The pain meds barely touched it. Finally, around 4:30 am, they got the magic medicine cocktail just right, and he could sleep.

This morning he had bloodwork (high white blood cell count, low hemoglobin) and a CT scan (discovered other pockets of fluid).

Around 3 pm, he had another procedure under anesthesia to place another drain tube lower in his abdomen and a PIC line to serve the feeding tube (since he's barely eaten since we've been here).

Tonight he has been feeling much better, drinking and even eating a little!

By the way, if you've never had the pleasure of smelling pancreatic fluid, consider yourself lucky!

The Saga of Trey and the Angry Pancreas - part 6

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. Everything has just been so unbelievable.

During his 3rd procedure Thursday, they took samples of the pancreatic fluid in his abdomen and tested it (since he had been fighting a fever). He seemed much better after that procedure, finally got some rest overnight, was cleared to eat a little and asked for scrambled eggs and orange juice for breakfast Friday morning.

When the surgeon came through later in the morning, he felt his belly and looked at the fluid from both drainage sites. He said he was concerned that Trey's belly was still pretty tight. But then he left.

Tony got dressed and ran to Cactus Pete's to take care of a few things, and shortly after he left, the doctor came back with the head of the trauma surgery team.

The fluid samples had bacteria from his GI tract, indicating damage to his intestines or bowel. They wanted to go back in and find any other damage. They took us down within an hour, and Tony was racing around.

After a 3+ hour surgery...they removed a twisted piece of his pancreas, ran through his bowels/colon twice before finding a small perforation and removed that section. Trey now has a 5-6 inch vertical incision and will have a colostomy bag for 2-3 months!

I am just praying that this is finally the fix we need and that we can begin the long journey of recovery.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen