Help for the Fishburn’s

I have had the pleasure of knowing the Fishburn’s only a short time. From the moment I met them I saw how kindhearted and compassionate they were. I am starting this fundraiser on their behalf to alleviate some of the financial burden they are facing. I will do my best to post updates as I see them posted from Brittany. 

As many of you know Al has been re-admitted into the hospital. This is a difficult time for Brittany as she juggles being at the hospital and work. I know as a wife she wants to be by Al’s side, and also has to work to keep their finances afloat. Let’s come together as the body of Christ and alleviate some of the financial burden they are facing. This way Brittany can be by Al’s side and that the finances aren’t an added burden.


Story: Al had been having episodes of a Gallbladder attack since August 2017. We did not know thats what it was. He thought it was horrible indigestion, though as his wife I thought the worst. He would have this off an on, until they finally made it impossible to live with. The last episode is what led me to call an Ambulance. If you know my husband, he is extremely independent and stubborn. This is the guy who walked on his leg, right after knee surgery, when he was told to not walk on it for at least 7-10 days. He never asks for help and is always helping others. This is a reason he missed seeing the symptoms that put him in the Hospital, he loves doing for others, he loves going, he loves working, he loves being with people, so he just kept pushing through.

When we got him to the hospital, he was in bad shape. He was Jaundice, could hardly breathe, pale, and sobbing in pain. The pain was so intense he was in shock and lethargic. He was sweating in large amounts, it was hard to see. We had no idea at the time that we were facing a diagnosis that leaves people with a 50/50 chance of survival when diagnosed with just a minor case. They finally gave him pain meds while he waited on a gurney 3 hours before even getting into an ER Room and the 2 hours later the ER Doctor came in. At this point, Al was pretty out of it. The Doctor explained to us that he had a very severe case of Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis and that his number were very scary. His Lipase Numbers were 37,492, when normal is between 130-400. His Liver was being effected and his enzymes were close to 700, normal is 7-56. His belly was so distended he looked 9 months pregnant. The Doctor said they would be immediately admitting him, that he could not tell us he would be OK, but thats why they were admitting him. We got to a room at 3:00am, they started IV Fluids and Antibiotics right away to try and get at least one step ahead.

The Doctor explained to me the reason why this is touch and go is because there is nothing that can be medically done to cure Pancreatitis. The only thing they can so is starve it and prevent further infection or secondary infections, so Al became NPO right away. After failed attempts to get closer looks, Al was transferred to the ICU, where he is Intubated and an NG Tube was inserted. We found out Al was Septic and that when we came in his Liver was shutting down. His Pancreas was so inflamed and his Stomach and Abdomen was full of toxic bile. His heart rate and oxygen were being effected, so all these steps were necessary to keep my husband alive. These other issues made the 50/50 survival rate much more like 80/20. The Doctors told us, his body will either heal itself or it won’t. We knew it was very serious at this point, we turned to God from the beginning, but then to our prayer warriors, because a Miracle was needed. He was very sick at this point and the Doctors could do nothing else.