On September 10th, Joey and Alicia received a call that would turn their world upside down. Joey had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (cancer), stage three, which was found on/in his tongue and possibly his neck. Since the news, they have been busy with many doctors appointments and calls to find the best possible treatment for him.

 

On September 16th, Joey and Alicia met with a team of oncologists and radiologists at UofM Hospital, which are now handling everything regarding Joey’s diagnosis.

 

On September 23rd, Joey underwent tongue reconstructive surgery where they removed 50% of the left side of his tongue. They used a portion of his right forearm (wrist to elbow) to reconstruct his tongue and then used his right groin area for the skin graph for his arm. They also removed all of the lymph nodes on the left side of his neck and removed two from the right side of his neck. Over the next 5-6 weeks he will be recovering and healing from this surgery to prepare his body to then begin radiation. He will receive radiation Monday through Friday for 6 weeks, following his surgery recovery.

 

In addition to the surgery and radiation he will be undergoing occupational therapy for his arm and regular speech therapy to help get him back to speaking normally, as best possible. Having that said, he is currently out of work during this time which puts a financial strain on their family, as he is their primary financial provider. We are hoping and praying that he will be back up and running, as healthy as can be, by April of 2022.

 

Thank you to those who have already donated to help Joey and Alicia financially through Venmo as well as through the MealTrain, in addition to putting food on the table for Alicia and the kids during this time. Thank you to family and friends who have been there thus far and continue to be there for them and their kids on a daily basis. This will be the hardest thing they hopefully ever have to go through, but the continued support and prayers will get them through.

 

”Fear Not” -Isaiah 41:10