Support for Smocks while dad fights for his life

Hi, my name is Tiffany and I am fundraising for the Smock family. Byron was diagnosed with invasive bladder cancer in December 2020. He began BCG (immunotherapy) treatments. After two unsuccessful trials, he was accepted into a clinical research trial. He received intensive treatments on a weekly basis combining the BCG (immunotherapy) and chemotherapy. This combination was successful in killing the cancer. Due to the aggressiveness and resistance to treatment he needed another surgery to have his bladder removed. After much research and consideration, he opted for a neobladder. This procedure involved removing his current bladder and having a new bladder built with part of his small intestines. His procedure occurred on 5/23/2023 and everything seemed to be going fine. On 6/4/2023, Jennifer received a call from her 13 year old daughter, Emma that her father was not well. Jennifer rushed home from work to find him very uncomfortable with a high fever (above 104 degrees). She attempted to get him to the car in order to transport him to the hospital but he was unable to walk. She had to call 911 and he was transported to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with septic shock. The urology team recommended a transfer to Moffitt, but the attending in ICU insisted they could handle the infection. They did not know the proper protocol and the situation became critical. Jennifer was advised to call in family due to the possibility he may not make it. He had countless surgeries for internal bleeding and developed a level 4 pressure wound. He has continued to be on a rollercoaster with internal bleeds and kidney failure. These issues required several surgeries to stop the bleeds and dialysis. They also had to place an iliostomy bag to relieve pressure on his organs. He has not been home and well since May of 2023. His course has been very complicated. He’s been going through many different antibiotics trying to find the right one for his infections. He has been in and out of the ICU for episodes that have occurred that put him in a critical state. He has suffered from dangerously low blood pressure, breathing difficulties, and most recently a heart episode. He now has fluid building up in his lungs and has bounced in and out of ICU. He is on oxygen and has not required intubation for this issue yet. Jennifer continues to work during the week, get her daughter to and from school, and try to keep up on her house. She commutes every weekend to Tampa to be with her husband and they are losing hope.

During this long process they lost electricity to part of their home. The estimated cost to fix it is $8000. They are living without working electric in part of their home and without their husband and father. He was the main provider to his family and the loss of income plus medical bills are overwhelming. Jennifer is also a cancer survivor and the stress has caused their daughter to develop extreme anxiety. Both parents having been through cancer and not knowing if her dad will ever come home has been a lot to bare. Anything you can do to help this family would be so appreciated. Jennifer works with children and families and she is a wonderful mother and wife. Her daughter Emma is a beautiful, sweet girl who just wants her parents to be healthy and whole again. This is a wish that she is just praying for daily. Thank you for reading about this sweet family and their hardship.