Help Doug Munson Transition to Compassionate Care

Would you help us help Doug?

What I wrote before we knew...

Doug was admitted to ICU (Intensive Care Unit) the morning of September 15th. He was transferred to med/surg the following Tuesday and remains there today ( now 10/4/24) While in ICU, they did identify that he has a bad case of pneumonia (identified as necrotizing pneumonia) and was septic. They had him hooked up to a bunch of IVs to counter the sepsis and he has been bloated and gained 30 lbs because his body will not release the excess fluids. He has so far had 5 blood transfusions, is currently on oxygen, and gets regular visits from the lung specialist to receive nebulizer treatments and monitor his lung functions.

Currently -

We were informed last Thursday that Doug is not going to recover. He needs to go into hospice. And this is where we need help. After looking for a week, we've found a place that has an apartment that will take him at his age. Doug has not been able to work in 8 months. The hospital has done all they can for him and wants to discharge him and we need to get him into this place asap to receive hospice care. The facility also has options for full nursing services, which we may choose to use in the future.

The following is the whole story of his recent health journey and the battles he's been having. If you would like to skip this part, please go to the end to see how funds will be used.

Let me tell you a little more….

The Dream

Doug had planned for over 10 years to move to Hawaii. It was a dream that he always spoke about and everyone who knows him knew about his dream to live there one day. And those who know Doug know he is no stranger to big adventures.

Well, that dream finally happened in February of 2023. He left his friends, family, and the Midwest to go to the Big Island. Since being there, he’s met some great people, a few have become good friends, had some grand adventures, and he ended up rescuing two Mastiffs, male and female, from being euthanized. (Two mastiffs were also a part of Doug’s dream)

The Next Thing

On April 8th of this year, Doug's heart was racing, and he had been sick for a few weeks, he drove himself to urgent care on the Big Island where he found out that his heart was in Atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is a type of irregular heartbeat that occurs when the upper chambers of the heartbeat abnormally fast and irregularly.

They transported him to a hospital in Hilo where he stayed for 4 days and they discovered via a scan that there was some sort of large abscess in his left lung. Doug already had a plane ticket back to Minnesota to see his twin sons’ (Aidian and Christian) graduate from University of Minnesota in May.

So, he made an appointment with a Doctor in Minnesota who was in his insurance network at Lakeview. Over the course of several appointments, it was confirmed that he had lung cancer and they would start him on an aggressive 6 week treatment plan, which included 5 days of radiation and 1 day of chemotherapy each week for 6 weeks.

After completing the 6 weeks, he had to get back out to Hawaii to see his dogs, who were being taken care of by a friend. His next step was to return to Hawaii where he had two appointments set up for two final chemo treatments, then start receiving immunotherapy for one year.

However, once he returned, he discovered that those appointments were cancelled. They wouldn’t accept the referral from his oncologist in Minnesota for his treatment in Hawaii and Doug would need to schedule an appointment with a local doctor to get a referral.

Doug tried for weeks to get an appointment to see a doctor. He even spent days in Hilo hospital begging anyone and everyone to be seen. An acquaintance gave him a number to a physician who ended up telling Doug that she wouldn’t be able to get him an appointment until JUNE OF NEXT YEAR!!! (2025)

He spent a total of 6 weeks trying to get an appointment while he was there, losing precious time to finish his cancer treatment. Yet, while in Hawaii he contracted this pneumonia.

September 11th he arrived back in MN to get back on track. He had appointments set up, one on Sept 16th for a scan to see where he was with his cancer, and the second on Sept 17th to meet with his oncologist. He never made it to those appointments, and they were postponed until he could get better. Only he's not getting better.

The Prognosis

At first we weren't sure how this was going to turn out. It's turned out worse than we thought and Doug's boys and I are doing whatever we can to get him into a place where is can pass peacefully. We do not know how soon or long that will be, but even Doug is guessing not very long.

How Funds Will Be Used

1. Get him into the apartment so he can get out of the hospital and hospice set up can take place and there is a place for his loved ones to come see him.

2. Pay rent for the apartment. There are also additional services such as cleaning and laundry that are available for additional costs, as well.

3. He has not been able to work for 8 months. Some funds will be used to pay his bills.

4. Anything above and beyond that would be used for a celebration of life in the event of his passing. Any possible remaining funds would help Doug's boys and I fly to Hawaii to spread some ashes and Christian and Aidan would like to meet Doug's friends, since they did not get a chance to visit Doug in Hawaii.

Everything is appreciated

If you could donate even $20, then share this with 3-5 more people who you know and they could do the same, I believe we can make this happen.

I know everyone is struggling these day, so we really do appreciate your help.

I will give you regular updates here to keep you posted.

Thank you so much. God bless!!

Shannon, Christian & Aidan