Help Derek Althof with medical expenses

Greetings family and friends,

As some of you are aware, my oldest son Derek has been battling what has turned into pretty challenging health complications for a year and a half now. He began getting sick in the spring of 2020 and has since been hospitalized on several occasions.

At first the symptoms were believed to be potentially related to COVID-19 and long-haulers, and were treated as such, despite having never tested positive for COVID. Things like chronic fatigue, persistent body aches, chronic hypoxia, loss of appetite, severe nausea and the list goes on... Treatment was essentially being put on oxygen, fluids, and being told to eat right, get rest and drink lots of water. Almost as if there was a “he’s a younger healthy male, he’ll be fine” mindset. At that time, there were most certainly other patients in desperate need of immediate care.

In late February of this year, it was discovered that severe blood clotting had developed in his left leg. He has been on a variety of blood thinners ever since, and remains on them to this day.

This cycle went on for over a year before Derek was finally able to find a team of doctors in the medical community who took the time to look deeper into his case. After going through just about any test and scan imaginable, it was determined that the blood clots were also related to his troubles breathing and maintaining O2 levels above 90 (hypoxia) with some minor clotting in his lungs. He was also diagnosed with an inflamed liver (fatty liver) and gallstones, which would explain a lot of the other remaining symptoms. As you can imagine, all of this has also affected his mental health as well. After a long hospitalization this summer, new medications, and more regular and consistent follow ups with his doctors, things were beginning to improve dramatically!

That said, in early November he received a call from his doctor after a recent blood draw and labs. His doctor was concerned with his bilirubin count, it remained extremely high. It was determined at that time that a second opinion should be received due to its relation to the gallbladder. Most unfortunately, Derek was unable to be seen prior to this past Monday when things took a turn for the worst…

On Monday afternoon, Derek began experiencing extreme pain in his upper abdomen and back. A pain he described as “I didn’t know what a 10 on the “1-10 pain scale” felt like, but I do now…" He was rushed to the hospital in Park City where medication was administered and an ultrasound was performed. It was discovered that one of his gallstones had traveled down the bile ducts, creating a blockage and severely inflaming the liver, gallbladder and pancreas causing pancreatitis. He was immediately loaded into an ambulance and transferred to Salt Lake City to a high level care facility. Due to his blood thinners, his first procedure wasn’t able to be performed until Wednesday. At that time doctors went in to remove the blockage and clean out the bile ducts. He then had to rest for two days to allow that pancreas time to heal enough to perform a gallbladder removal surgery, which took place yesterday on Friday. Derek is now at home resting comfortably and recovering.

While he is not out of the woods yet with everything he has been going through, we are praying the worst is behind him. As you can imagine this has been a truly life changing series of events, and has resulted in WEEKS spent in hospitals. It has affected not just his physical and mental health, but also his finances, earning opportunities, and ability to do many of the things he loves.

Should you, your family, and/or friends have the means to offer financial support to help with his medical expenses it would be a true blessing to him and us during this difficult time. We know it is a challenging time of the year for many to make donations, but with skyrocketing medical expenses any amount you could spare truly helps and would be greatly appreciated! Regardless, thank you for taking the time to read and share this post. Please continue to keep Derek in your thoughts and prayers as he keeps moving forward.

Best wishes,

Mary Althof