UPDATE as of 2/10/20:

I know you all have been so supportive throughout the last few months with Blaine’s journey, and we’ve appreciated all your prayers. I wanted to give you an update this morning on Blaine’s situation, as this weekend was full of more complex news and layers of unanswered questions. Friday evening we thought Blaine was going septic again, as he spiked a 103 fever in the middle of the night and his blood pressure was sky high. Thankfully after a couple of hours of ice packs, meds and prayer, he seemed to have somewhat stabilized and we caught it early enough that they were able to get it under control quickly. 

Fast forward to Saturday morning, and our family received news nobody ever wants to hear. The pathology report came back on the grapefruit-size mass that they removed in surgery last Wednesday, and the unfortunate findings were that it is in fact cancer. The doctors are still unsure exactly what kind of cancer it is, where it originated from, if there is more, etc. So they are working to put together 2 “tumor boards” with several doctors where they will examine scans and basically start from the beginning to draft a plan for treatment, once they have a better understanding of what it is Blaine is truly facing. At this point in time, healing Blaine’s body from this new infection he is fighting is first priority. Once they can get that under control, he will have about 4-6 weeks of post-op recovery before they can begin any kind of chemotherapy plan or other treatments. 

So at this point in time, the biggest support they can receive is more prayer — prayer for wisdom in these doctors and that they can see what hasn’t been seen before, prayer for answers for Connie and Blaine as their hearts have been flooded with so many emotions and that they can continue to see hope and seek God first during their time of doubts, prayer for all of Blaine’s kids and support system to help be the encouragement and strength he needs to keep fighting, and most of all prayer for Blaine...that his body can continue to endure and fight back against the odds and ultimately receive complete and total healing. 

Our family sincerely appreciates your continued prayer and support and I will keep y’all updated as we learn more. 

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On February 5, 2020, our father, grandfather and husband, Blaine Hougland, will undergo an extremely risky and specialized series of procedures to hopefully end what has been a nearly 6+ month trial of pain, patience and endurance. His recovery will take several weeks, and he will be unable to work during this time.

Over the course of the last 25 weeks, Blaine has endured several medical trials and stressors that nobody should have to go through. He's already had numerous procedures completed and still has one more extremely high-risk procedure to go. Additionally, due to the complications from these various trials, Blaine has been unemployed since late August and therefore he and Connie have been down to one primary source of income throughout all of this. While they have plenty of emotional and familial support and nobody feels as though they are in crisis mode, we would like to do our part in helping them with the medical bills that are coming and will continue to troll in, as well as help fund their everyday needs – because as it stands right now, there still isn't an official end in sight yet for when Blaine will officially be healed and fully recovered, so that he may return to work again. 

He and Connie have remained hopeful and strong throughout all these tribulations, but as they head into this next (and hopefully final) major procedure, we want to help them feel peace and be able to focus on one priority – Blaine's health and wellbeing – rather than the financial burden that has come along with everything else. Any donations given will go towards their current and future medical bills as well as their everyday household bills to help get them through to the other side of this weary and incredibly stressful time. 

For more details on the timeline and events that have occurred for Blaine up to this point, you're welcome to read below: 

In August 2019, Blaine went to the ER to figure out the cause of what seemed to be a minor urology issue. Over the course of the next 2 weeks, he would see his doctor 6 more times for two procedures and 3 more ER visits in an attempt to correct the issues that were present. When September came around, a scan showed some leakage from his bladder, as well as a mass in his pelvic area. More tests were ordered and he was referred to another surgeon. On 9/26, he spiked a fever overnight reaching 103. The following morning he went to his surgeon's office for an MRI follow-up, and while his fever had come down, they shared that his recent lab results showed a high CEA (cancer antigen) number, thus adding a new concern to the mix. By 12:30pm that same day, Blaine was delirious, running a high fever and officially diagnosed with sepsis by mid-afternoon. He ended up staying in the hospital for the next 9 days, enduring several unexpected procedures and learning about new threats to his health (including a massive 2.3cm kidney stone blocking the tube to his bladder, having a nephrostomy procedure completed, being put on IV antibiotics, having a 3rd type of catheter placed, fluid drained from bladder and the list goes on and on). On 10/5 he was discharged from the hospital, only to have to run back to ER within a couple of hours due to catheter complications. He was additionally then setup with home health for IV antibiotics and other necessary post-op care. 

On 10/24 he met with a new urologist at KU Med to discuss the kidney stone removal procedure - as due to its complexity, his doctor was unable to perform the necessary surgery. The first available date for this new doctor to complete the procedure would be 12/3. Fast forward to mid-November, Blaine learned the same bacteria and infection that caused him to go septic was still testing positively as being present within his body. Additionally, with another urology appointment came the unfortunate news that his bladder had not fully healed and thus would require a very specialized, risky and complex surgery. After several weeks of calling multiple surgeons, include out-of-state medical professionals, we were able to find 2 local doctors at KU Med that will now perform these necessary procedures on February 5, 2020.

**UPDATE: Blaine went back in to the ER on 1/23 and was diagnosed with early sepsis (again) and two different bacterial infections. He had to have another drain procedure completed and was released to go home, 1/29. He is now going through IV antibiotics again at home until next week's major surgery date. Continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated.