Give Hope to Tom, Sarah, and their Twins

Hello, my name is Sarah, and I am Tom’s wife, and I’d like to bring everyone up to date with where we are currently with Tom’s health, and what we faced in the last year since Tom came home from rehab to continue his recovery from Stage 4 Cancer of the Colon. To those of you who followed us before and any newcomers that would like to join us on Tom’s Journey, welcome.

We find ourselves in a very humbled state, and in great need of help.

I am acutely aware of how much time has passed since my last post. We are well into the second year since Tom was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the colon. There have been so many struggles, victories, setbacks, and still, progress along the way. We have been so busy this last year, that it has been hard to keep up with it all.

Employment:

This is hard for me to say, but I was fired from my job a few weeks ago. Even though, it was a “wrongful termination”, I still must look for a new job at the age of 65. I have something in the works, but it will require a lot of training, which I will have to pay for out of pocket prior to starting the job, and then I will go through further training before I begin working. It is my understanding that I will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses once I have completed the 90-day trial period after being hired. So, I am currently receiving no income, and it will be at least two months before my new wages begin to come in…

Starting next month, we will be unable to cover all our household expenses and necessities.

Tom’s Long Recovery:

There have been doctor’s appointments of all kinds, MRI’s, visits to Urgent Care and another five-day hospital stay. Home Health visits with Wound Care, PT and OT techs, Palliative Care Services, Social Workers, and probably more that have slipped my mind.

Due to the multiple issues with the three bedsores that Tom came home with, their healing was a long time coming. There were two different strains of MRSA in the left and center ulcers, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (which is almost as bad as MRSA) in the one on the right. After having waited on the bed sores for several months longer than had been anticipated the Oncologist decided to go ahead and develop a plan for immunotherapy for Tom, as there are still three metastases on Tom’s liver, and one on his right adrenal gland (he went with Keytruda). Through it all Tom has been in constant pain since he came home last January 2024 and even before the diagnosis. It was the driving force for him to seek a doctor.

I’m pleased to report that two of the bedsores had healed by the end of June. However, they did flare up momentarily when Tom began the immunotherapy this January. The last and largest bedsore was fierce at resisting treatment, until the beginning of February 2025. Then all of a sudden, the drainage finally started to run clear, and it began to drastically reduce in size. All three bedsores are now fully healed and although the outward appearance has improved greatly, there is still a lot of underlying pain. This may be due to the metastases, scar tissue, or possibly both. There have also been issues with the availability of the pain medication that Tom has been taking.

Appointments with the other Specialists Tom needs to follow up with have been put off until the immunotherapy has been completed. The treatments are very physically taxing on him and trying to manage any other appointments is not practical. Not to mention issues that came up with my health and the overall needs of our family and twins.

My Health:

Issues with my health began last May, and it has just been one thing after another, a virtual cascade. I believe that this is due to my body no longer being able to sustain the level of stress that I have been under for most of my life and now magnified with Tom’s illness. I do not want to minimize my health issues, but my biggest concerns have to do with our finances (medical bills piling up and collection letters coming in), our vehicles, and living situation.

Vehicles:

In an earlier post I mentioned the issues with our vehicles. With some of the funds that we received last year we were able to get the truck (a 2005 Chevy Avalanche) fixed well enough to keep it running, but it needs a lot more time and money. Tom loves his truck, but it is now 20 years old and needs more than just a little TLC. It’s also a gas guzzler and not cheap to drive. It’s redeeming quality is that it only has about 110,000 miles on it, which is low for any 20-year-old vehicle.

My car still sits in the driveway most days. I cannot accelerate quickly but must do everything slowly and with restraint, so it does not quit on me. Last year the battery, starter, alternator, and tires were replaced, but it kept overheating and leaving me stranded on the side of the road. Someone finally told me that it was the fuel pump. I bought a fuel pump, but now I am unable to find anyone that will install it for me (and it is still a major eyesore as the previous owner had had several fender benders). It seems that no one wants to work on a 2008 PT Cruiser. I am now coming to terms with the fact that I may not be able to get it repaired and will need to be able to replace it. I want to purchase a used (not new) car to get around in, hopefully one that is a little newer, and gets remarkably better gas milage than the truck.

Living Situation:

Regretfully, we are still stuck in the same apartment. There is no other way in or out, besides climbing or descending the stairs. This is a scary, treacherous and a necessary chore for both me and Tom. In addition, two days before Christmas we had a tremendous amount of rain. The roof was in the process of being replaced, and the workers did not properly secure the plastic covering the roof over the weekend, and on Sunday night a huge section of our ceiling (nearly 2 sheets of drywall) fell right on my head as I was trying to place buckets, pots, pans, empty storage bins, anything to catch the water coming in a dozen or so leaks in the ceiling (I had a mini breakdown later that day that took about a month or so to recover from). Although the new roof has been completed, the ceiling in our apartment has not yet been repaired. The twins, Tom and I covered the hole with a large sheet of plastic to try and keep the mold, dead termites’ debris, smell and general dirt and out of the living/dining room area.

As a family we out-grew this 2-bedroom, 1- & 1/2-bathroom apartment many years ago. Our twins are now 17 (5 when we moved in) and should not still be sharing a bedroom as they are a boy and girl. We need something larger on ground level or that has an elevator (2 full baths are also a must). Despite the possibility of us becoming homeless soon (due to no income, we are struggling to afford staying here). I Some-how still dream of living in a house again...

Conclusion:

I will try to do better about posting regular updates. Tom will be having a PET Scan this week and I will make sure to let you know as soon as we receive the results.

Prayers would be and are always appreciated. If you feel led to help us, we will graciously accept any gift that you choose to bless us with. We assure that your willingness to support us will never be taken for granted and will be used only for necessities, improving our health, living situation, and means of transportation.

Please know that we greatly appreciate your kindness and generosity, they will be forever cherished.

Thank you for sharing your precious time with us by reading our story. May God bless you.

With great awe and respect,

Sarah & Tom Willingham