Casey Needs Total Hip Replacement

Family and Friends, we need your help and support.  Casey is in urgent need of a total hip replacement.  His hip has totally collapsed due to a condition called Avascular Necrosis.  This condition occurs when there is loss of blood to the bone.   Because bone is living tissue that requires blood, an interruption to the blood supply causes bone to die. If not stopped, this process eventually causes the bone to collapse. Living with a worn or injured hip joint is painful and frustrating enough, so can you imagine what he has been going through with a totally collapsed hip joint?  He has been in CONSTANT excruciating pain since November 2014.  I have watched him go from a man who was full of life and always on the go to a man who can barely get up from a chair without moaning in pain.  The simple things we take for granted such as walking to the bathroom or walking to the kitchen causes him so much pain.  He wakes up in the middle of the night in pain and then can’t fall back asleep.  He is tired and it is starting to show.  He is tired of always being in pain, he is tired of not being able to sleep, and he is tired of having to use crutches to walk. He is my HERO because even with the excruciating pain he is in, he is still going to work and still supporting his family at home. He has not been able to work his 2nd job due to him not being able to walk around freely without crutches.  I have been applying for jobs left and right but have yet to be called by anyone.  As if the pain wasn’t enough, now he is dealing with the stress of how we cannot afford the surgery he so desperately needs, even with insurance. It wasn’t until January that we were able to afford the ridiculous amount they needed just to have an MRI.  We were so happy to finally be able to have the MRI done and find out what was wrong with him so we could get started on a treatment,  only to find out few weeks later that the doctor is asking an ungodly amount to be paid up front before he can even have the surgery. The pain has become more and more unbearable, but what is even more unbearable is the harsh reality we have come to face, that we simply cannot afford the surgery on our own.  In an effort to remedy the situation of not being able to afford the outrageous upfront costs of the surgery, Casey applied for a bank loan.  So we remained hopeful that we would be approved and be able to move forward with the surgery.  But the very next day we get a letter from our mortgage company stating that there is a shortage in our escrow account and that our mortgage payment will be $500 more per month for the next 12 months beginning April 1, 2015, unless we pay the shortage up front!  Without him being able to work his 2nd job and me having no luck findng a job, we definitely can’t afford the $500 more per month on our mortgage…so the dilemma ensues. We can’t pay both the escrow shortage and the surgery. Casey always thinks of others first and puts family first, so he would rather live with the pain of his collapsed hip than risk losing our home. He is not one to ask for help. He is stubborn and he is extremely proud.  But we are in an extremely hard place right now and must face the hard truth that we cannot do this alone.  Which is why we are asking for your support.   Everyone falls upon tough times every now and then so we understand if you cannot donate.  Simply sharing this with your family and friends will also help!

Here’s a little background story for those of you who do not know what all this courageous man has suffered through health wise for the last 7 years.  Long story short, the medications including immunosuppressants, steroids, and chemotherapy, he has had to take due to all his health issues are to blame for the loss of blood supply to his hip bone which caused his hip to collapse.  Just when we thought all those health issues were under control, they sneak back up on us in another form!  If you want to read all the details of his long journey, you can read my blog which can be found by clicking on this link http://thirdtimeisacharmedlife.blogspot.com/.  But I will try to summarize here as best I can.

My husband is the strongest man I know!  He has been through and suffered more at the mere age of 36 than any human being should ever have to endure their whole life.  In 2008, he became very ill with a life threatening illness.  Due to some unknown virus, his liver was all shriveled up and dying.  It only had 4% functionality at the time he was diagnosed with Acute Liver Failure of unknown etiology.  Needless to say, he needed a LIVER TRANSPLANT and he needed one fast!  Because of the severity of his illness, he was put at the top of the transplant list.  We were lucky to have a donor liver the very next day after being put on the list!  Several medications, doctor visits, and check-ups followed for the next three months after having his transplant.  He went through two rejections during this time which required very large doses of steroids.  All was well for several months until he started feeling sick again all of a sudden. It was right around the time that he had to go for his annual check-up/biopsy.  The biopsy was found to have abnormal cells and he was referred to an Oncologist.  Just as fast as everything had transpired the year before; things happened that much faster again in finding out that Casey now had CANCER!  He was diagnosed with lung cancer…in the liver.  Strange, I know.  As if liver failure in such a young man wasn’t strange enough already.  Let’s add lung cancer cells in the liver to the mix!  What had happened was that the liver donor had undetected lung cancer and it had metastasized to the liver before she passed away.  Although we were still very grateful that he was given a 2nd chance at life with his donor liver, we were very frustrated that this cancer was not detected and was able to be passed on to Casey!  Thanks to God, the cancer shrunk down enough within 6 months of chemotherapy and he was able to be put back near the top of the liver transplant list.  He didn’t get a donor quite as fast as the first time.  It was about a month later when we got the call that he had a donor liver waiting for him.  After liver transplant #2, he had to have 4 more months of chemotherapy as a preventative measure.  He went through one rejection after the 2nd transplant which required large doses of steroids. His liver has been fine since BUT he has had to have three hernia repair surgeries.  The hernias were caused due to him having multiple surgeries and the surgeons having to cut through the same scar and muscle, as well as because of the inability of the scar tissue to heal due to the chemotherapy.   Although, we are very happy that Casey survived not only one but two liver transplants AND cancer, those medications that he had to take and will always have to take have caused some major damage that we now have to deal with.  In all reality, his body will never be the same but he is happy to be alive and wants to live his life to the fullest. But first, we must fix his collapsed hip so that he may live a pain free life with better mobility!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and any help will be deeply appreciated.