Helping Helmsing

Hello. My name is Amanda. I am organizing this fundraiser on behalf of my amazing, selfless brother, Mark. Please read til the end if you do not know about this brilliant man and would like to learn more about him! No donation is too small; if you are unable to donate, please share this on your social media pages.

On October 20th of this year (2022), Mark entered a hospital for a minimally invasive, elective surgery for one purpose: to get healthier and prevent any possible diseases related to being overweight. The exact opposite happened—he has YET to leave the hospital. In fact, he has been in the ICU for over SEVEN WEEKS now. It is truly mind-boggling and frustrating. The numerous complications he has endured actually have less than 1% chance of happening.

After years of considering bariatric surgery, he finally decided to schedule Gastric Bypass Roux En Y. He did extensive research and chose the best of the best and put his life in their hands.

Gastric bypass, also called Roux-en-Y (roo-en-wy) gastric bypass, is a type of weight-loss surgery that involves creating a small pouch from the stomach and connecting the newly created pouch directly to the small intestine. After gastric bypass, swallowed food will go into this small pouch of stomach and then directly into the small intestine, thereby bypassing most of your stomach and the first section of your small intestine. Gastric bypass is one of the most commonly performed types of bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass is done when diet and exercise haven't worked or when you have serious health problems because of your weight.

Why it's done:

Gastric bypass is done to help you lose excess weight and reduce your risk of potentially life-threatening weight-related health problems, including:

* Gastroesophageal reflux disease

* Heart disease

* High blood pressure

* High cholesterol

* Obstructive sleep apnea

* Type 2 diabetes

* Stroke

* Cancer

After the initial surgery, everything seemed to be okay. He was supposed to get discharged the following day. He ran into some issues shortly after with a blocked bowel. Once that was resolved, he stayed in the hospital a bit longer to rest and build up stamina. Things quickly took a turn. I had just passed through security at the airport for my flight out to him to assist him once he got home (we live 529 miles apart), when my phone rang. It was Mark. He sounded HORRIBLE—my heart sunk. He was out of breath but managed to tell me to cancel my flight because he was not getting discharged, and to wait and fly out a few days later. I started to get concerned at this point, but panic hadn’t set in just yet. I remained optimistic. What happened next is unimaginable.

On Tuesday, October 25th, 5 days after the gastric bypass surgery, his friend went to get him in the evening for discharge. The hospital cleared him to go home. Upon arrival, when his friend saw the physically disastrous state my brother was in—Mark could hardly breathe and was having chest pains shooting up to his shoulders—pleaded with the hospital staff to reconsider the determined course of action. This friend had to argue and fight with the staff to keep my brother in the hospital. I’m not sure my brother would still be here had he not had this amazing advocate on hand and willing to put up a fight on Mark’s behalf.

 

From that point forward, everything is a blur. The surgeon decided to do exploratory surgery the next day (Wednesday Oct 26th) to see what was causing these unsettling issues. This turned into major bowel surgery. His small intestines were fried and wrapped around other organs. He was basically put back together/reconstructed from the inside. I do not have clear answers on what exactly happened or what went wrong.

 

After the surgery, Mark went into fatal arrhythmia and had his heart shocked three times: and only became stable after the highest shock setting was used on him. Then, the worst happened—septic shock. The next thing I know, my brother is heavily sedated and hooked up to life support with a trach. He had three or four thorencelntesis procedures done to remove fluid buildup in his lungs. He remained on the ventilator for over 6 weeks. He was pumped continuously with very heavy sedatives throughout these six weeks including propofol, fentanyl, ketamine, and other antipsychotics I cannot remember. He has had to have numerous dialysis treatments since his kidneys took a huge hit. He also developed a fistula—gastrogastric fistula is a communication between the proximal gastric pouch and the distal gastric remnant, rarely described in the realm of bariatric procedures. He has endured literally every possible complication with this supposed safe surgery.

 

After seven weeks of absolute hell, we finally received some good news. They were FINALLY able to wean him off the sedatives and the vent. He is attempting to communicate now. He remains in the ICU under close watch. He is not out of the woods, but he is fighting so hard and making amazing progress considering all that was thrown his way. At this time, we do not know what recovery looks like. We do not know the length of time it will take to get him back on his feet, or what his new normal will be. It will be MONTHS. Fingers crossed he makes a FULL recovery.

 

Why I’m asking for help:

 

I have been put in charge of the decision making for my older brother. For my entire life, he has always taken care of things and family matters when they arise. It seems like overnight I grew up 20+ years and roles were reversed. Nothing can you prepare you for something like this. It is mentally taxing attempting to juggle his finances, secure his job, all while grieving and seeing him in the state he is in. I haven’t really had much time to think about all of it—-I just went into action. Since this was supposed to be a simple, safe procedure with next day discharge, Mark did not assign anyone as POA or advance directive. I am totally stuck with accessing his finances until he is cleared to assign me his POA. If this can’t happen, I will have to hire an attorney and apply for guardianship over him. This takes time. For the last two months, I, along with the help from his amazing friends, have covered his bills. I have been to visit him 5 separate times. Every time I leave him is so difficult. The flights, gas, hotels, and expenses adds up very quickly. I am a small business owner/entrepreneur so I do not have sick time or pay; I have not had any income since this began as I had to quit accepting orders for my small business. Juggling all of this is ALOT, and I cannot do it without your help. All donations are being used to cover travel expenses and Mark’s bills. Anything left over will go into Mark’s recovery fund to help him get back on his feet.

 

Why Mark Is So Special:

 

Before this happened, I had an idea of how influential Mark was, but quickly learned it goes above and beyond what I thought. Growing up I was told “you have big shoes to fill”, “your brother will be president one day”, etc. I’m sure I rolled my eyes, simply because he is my sibling. But oh, my goodness—those who have reached out have made my heart swell. Mark is smart—he is on an entirely different brain level I can’t comprehend. He has dedicated his life to teaching/helping others from middle school to college.

Dr. Mark Helmsing’s teaching, research, and scholarship focus on pedagogies of historical culture and the presence of the past in schools, museums, and everyday life. He has been on the faculty of George Mason University since 2017 as an assistant professor in the School of Education, an affiliate faculty member in the Department of History & Art History, an affiliate faculty member in the Folklore Studies Program, and a faculty associate of the Reconciling Social Divisions and Memories Lab with the university’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

A teacher and teacher educator for over 20 years, Dr. Helmsing has worked with students and educators in rural, suburban, and urban locations throughout Indiana, Arizona, Michigan, New York, Wyoming, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. He has conducted fieldwork in the Arab American National Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Gallery of Art.

Dr. Helmsing’s international work has included teaching in a rural school in the Scottish Highlands, studying youth development in Botswana, researching historical culture and memory of the Holocaust in Germany and Poland, and, most recently, teaching a course on social division and historical culture in Cyprus.

 

Along with his love of reading and writing, Mark loves anything that could be considered strange, odd, or unhinged. Whether it be visiting a vintage store, ghost tour, long lost cemetery or watching a documentary about some recently discovered curiosity, Mark’s way of being in the world is truly unique—and we love him to death for it.

 

Mark’s smile and big teddy bear energy can usually be found at the center of any social gathering. A short scroll through his social media posts will reveal an endless stream of photos with friends, all beaming with joy at being in community with my brother. Mark is a truly gifted orator and while I have not attended any of his academic conference presentations, I have heard Mark tell many tales over the years. Ask any of his colleagues and I am certain they will all agree that Mark is one of the most eloquent speakers you will ever encounter. Stories, news, history, myths, memorials, movie reviews, keynote talks, conference papers, pop-culture reviews—you name it, my brother can talk (and write) about it. 

 

In closing, I recognize that we all have our own special relationship with my dear brother, Mark Helmsing. He is such a beautiful human being and I hope this update will help everyone gain a better understanding of what we have been dealing with these past several months. On behalf of our family and close network of friends, we appreciate you taking the time to read this note and consider donating to help alleviate some of the financial stress of the current situation.