I have made this page, to hopefully help offset some unexpected costs during a very stressful time. Any donation or extra prayers are greatly appreciated :-)

My mom (Pat) and Gordy have two dogs, who have had to be boarded during their appointments and hospital stays in Rochester. Pat is having to stay in a hotel during this time. What was planned to be a 7-10 day stay in the hospital with two weeks of boarding two dogs has now turned into over a month.

Gordy was diagnosed with Esophageal cancer at the end of 2024. He was doctoring at the Mayo, and teaming with his Providers in Hibbing. He underwent chemotherapy in Hibbing for eight weeks. After his completion of the Hibbing chemo, he had to spend a month in Rochester for another round of chemo and Radiation Therapy. This was completed the end of May, with surgery to remove 80% of his esophagus scheduled for July 9th. The surgery was successful, with no signs of cancer cells after surgery, however, he ended up having a setback. When coming out of surgery, after he was extubated, he went into Respiratory distress and had to be intubated again. The Providers wanted to give Gordy a day to get a little stronger and tried to extubate him again the following morning, only to find that he went back into distress. Due to trying to extubate three times and not being successful, the team felt a trach would be the best route to go and back to the OR he went.

The procedure went well. After multiple tests, it was identified that his windpipe was collapsing and he has some diaphragm paralysis from the chemo, which is pushing pressure on his lung and making it difficult to expand his lung. The team of physicians met and felt a temporary flexible stent would be best to help with the windpipe. They had to wait for a flexible stent to be made. Once made, it was shipped to the Mayo and to the OR he went for the third time. The procedure went well and things were looking better, until he was having difficulty breathing and having a feeling of thick mucus in his lungs. Samples were taken and found that he had an infection and the start of antibiotics with multiple suctions of the mucus began. Things started to look up and on the road to recovery. On Tuesday, August 4th, what is nearing a month in Rochester, the thick mucus returned and due to its consistency, they were not able to perform the normal suction through his trachea, and a fourth trip to the OR was made.

We don’t have a discharge date, at this time. He is currently receiving treatments to hopefully clear up his lungs, to where they can move forward and make plans to remove the stent and trachea, however, no dates have been set.

Extra prayers or donations are greatly appreciated.