Help Mom Through Her Whipple Surgery Journey

Oh boyyyyy.... Mom and Dad are going to kill me, but here we go.

If you know my Mom, you know the story. For those of you who don't know...let me re-cap.

Mother’s Day of this year was definitely an unforgettable one. Mom had not been feeling good for at least a week but that evening she turned yellow.

My dad took her to the emergency room in Waterloo where Corby and I met them.

After blood tests and a CT scan, we found out that several organs were not functioning. Liver, pancreas and gallbladder. She was taken by ambulance to Iowa City, where she remained for three days.

A mass was discovered in the head of her pancreas. She was taken into surgery, where she had a stent placed in one blocked bile duct, and another stent placed in her pancreatic duct. Three different biopsies were taken of the mass on her pancreas.

A week later, we received the news that we did not want to get. Pancreatic cancer.

Things moved quickly in the next two weeks. We had meetings with medical oncology, surgical oncology, the University of Iowa research department and probably several other departments that I’m forgetting. Our heads were spinning, but chemo started one week later.

Mom has done 6 very aggressive chemo treatments (including having to wear a chemo "fanny pack" home for 46 hours AFTER 5 hours of in hospital chemo).

On October 18th, the real battle begins. Mom will undergo a 9-12 hour surgery called the Whipple. It involves removing the head of the pancreas, the first part of the small intestine, the gallbladder and the bile duct. Then everything gets "rerouted" and sewn back together. Her body will literally have to relearn how to digest food and move bile. We've been informed it will be brutal, but it's the only thing that can save her life. Within 4 weeks post surgery, she will have to start 6 more rounds of chemo

Here's where you come in.

This has been expensive. Bi-weekly trips to Iowa City for chemo, two emergency surgeries for stent replacements, multiple ER visits for fever and pain. Dad clearly hasn't been able to work this Fall as much as he normally would...mostly by choice so that he can be by Mom's side as her health declines from the toll the chemo takes on her body.

Mom will be hospitalized for AT LEAST a week after this whipple surgery. Both Dad and I will stay in Iowa City the entire time as we've been educated and informed by her surgical team just how serious this procedure is. That is a week of hotel rooms...3 meals a day... and that doesn't include the specialty foods she will be required to eat after she is released or the medications she'll have to be on that are not fully covered by insurance.

Dad would be pissed if he knew about this call for help. He's a proud man.

I'd rather he be mad at me than financially strained in any sort of way. I need all Mom and Dad's efforts going towards praying, healing, and just being strong.

Please don't share this publicly without blocking Mom and Dad from the post. If you're not sure how to do that, please reach out and I'll walk you thru it.