Donate to Jen and Mike's Family

My name is Jen and I created this page to help support my husband Mike and our family during his gastroparesis journey.

Gastroparesis is officially classified as a rare disease and only affects approximately 4% of the world population. It means “stomach paralysis,” and even easily digested foods can sometimes take hours, days, or weeks to move through the stomach to the small intestine - sometimes not even at all. It can lead to a life of feeding tubes, malnutrition, or even death for some of the people who suffer from it. My brother-in-law passed away from the complications of gastroparesis at only 42 years old, so the side effects of the disease are serious.

After extensive testing (including an endoscopy, colonoscopy, and gastric emptying), we finally received a diagnosis in January of 2024. Don’t get me wrong, we were happy to finally have an answer as to why Mike would sometimes be bed ridden for days with debilitating stomach pains and unrelenting nausea. His blood sugar was also out of control and he was going days at a time without eating, so we were happy to finally be pointed in the right direction for treatment. However, it was terrifying because the disease hit a little too close to home.

Let me also mention as a side note: there is currently NO cure for gastroparesis.

Insurance requires a patient to jump through a LOT of hoops; we have tried everything from dietary modifications to prescription medications, including some with terrifying side effects, (such as tardive dyskenisia). Our current hope - and what led to this page being set up - is a gastric pacemaker from Enterra that will help control his stomach cramps and nausea. This medical device starts at around $30,000, and it is a procedure that is not performed in our state, so we will have routine travel costs (gas, food, lodging), not to mention loss of income for taking the time off from work.

This devastating illness has wreaked absolute havoc on my poor husband and his quality of life. It is impossible some days for him to even eat or drink. We have hope in the future and that this pacemaker will be the solution that will keep him from having to have a feeding tube in the future. However, as a family of five, the financial impact we will receive (and have already received) from it is tremendous.

As most of you know, insurance only gets one so far in the United States and while it will help some, it is not enough to cover the broad range of costs that will be incurred in the coming months. You also know that I am an extremely prideful person and I do NOT like to ask for help, which is one of my biggest toxic traits. However, I am also a mom who would do anything for her family, and this is a resource I am willing to try. Anything you are willing to give - no matter how small or big - would be extremely appreciated.

To be honest, our goal is really a fraction of the costs that we are about to incur but if we can get even a small portion, it would still help tremendously! If you can’t help, please share and spread the word on your social media for those who can. A prayer or two would be appreciated as well.

I will be setting up a separate Caring Bridge account for those of you who are interested in the details of our journey and want to to know more going forward.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this! It means a lot to my entire family and we appreciate all of the love and support!