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If you knew you were dying, would you want to see your family?
My name is Susan. Jerome came to rent a room from my husband and I about 8 years ago when we put an ad out. We didn't have to wait very long before we decided he would be a great addition to our house. He was a hard worker, had friends who respected him and an easy going, laid back style that would work well in this house. He loved my dog Buster and more importantly, Buster loved him. And so it began. A situation that turned from landlord/tenant to friends to "family".
In June of this year (2015), Jerome went to work. And was promptly sent home because his eyes were yellow and so was his skin. Well actually he was sent to the Dr...who sent him to the ER. And that's where that began. Shortly after that, we were told that he had pancreatic cancer. It took weeks to get through the red tape of his health insurance and being bounced from Dr to Dr to find out what the plan would be. There HAD to be a plan, right? And while Dr's were playing hot potato with our friend, he began getting scared...and I began getting angry. He was losing weight faster than anyone when they are actually trying to lose weight. But he wasn't trying. And he was getting very weak. I guess I got to the point where I couldn't stand by and watch our friend struggle without answers. I started making phone calls and we finally got him in to an Oncologist who told us that Jerome's cancer was stage 3. I will never forget the shock in his face when the Dr said 'stage 3 pancreatic cancer, locally advanced". And the times that Jerome just kept repeating "stage 3. stage 3."
After being bounced around a little more, Jerome started some pretty aggressive chemo treatment. The first round was litterally a nighmare. But after weekly trips to the Dr, several trips to the ER and a few hospital stays, he got through 4 of the 6 rounds. And then during the last hospital stay, a CT scan showed something new. The cancer had now spread to the liver. In several places. The surgery he had been going through chemo for to possibly have the tumor shrink and removed was no longer an option. We now know that whatever the treatment plan is...is just to keep the cancer at bay as long as possible while giving him some sort of quality of life.
Jerome knows he is going to die. His blood family is in New Jersey and he is in California....3000 miles away. He wants more than anything to say what he needs to say face to face to the people who knew him best and loved him most before he ever came to California. We want more than anything to help him get that wish.
The money we are trying to raise is to get him to New Jersey and back and for helping with food he needs and clothes that will fit since he has lost nearly 100 lbs in the last several months. And to be blunt, expenses related to his passing when the Lord decides to take him home.
This is Jerome's Journey. In more than one sense. We are trying to help him get his journey home. And then he will make his journey..."home".
Please help if you can.
My name is Susan. Jerome came to rent a room from my husband and I about 8 years ago when we put an ad out. We didn't have to wait very long before we decided he would be a great addition to our house. He was a hard worker, had friends who respected him and an easy going, laid back style that would work well in this house. He loved my dog Buster and more importantly, Buster loved him. And so it began. A situation that turned from landlord/tenant to friends to "family".
In June of this year (2015), Jerome went to work. And was promptly sent home because his eyes were yellow and so was his skin. Well actually he was sent to the Dr...who sent him to the ER. And that's where that began. Shortly after that, we were told that he had pancreatic cancer. It took weeks to get through the red tape of his health insurance and being bounced from Dr to Dr to find out what the plan would be. There HAD to be a plan, right? And while Dr's were playing hot potato with our friend, he began getting scared...and I began getting angry. He was losing weight faster than anyone when they are actually trying to lose weight. But he wasn't trying. And he was getting very weak. I guess I got to the point where I couldn't stand by and watch our friend struggle without answers. I started making phone calls and we finally got him in to an Oncologist who told us that Jerome's cancer was stage 3. I will never forget the shock in his face when the Dr said 'stage 3 pancreatic cancer, locally advanced". And the times that Jerome just kept repeating "stage 3. stage 3."
After being bounced around a little more, Jerome started some pretty aggressive chemo treatment. The first round was litterally a nighmare. But after weekly trips to the Dr, several trips to the ER and a few hospital stays, he got through 4 of the 6 rounds. And then during the last hospital stay, a CT scan showed something new. The cancer had now spread to the liver. In several places. The surgery he had been going through chemo for to possibly have the tumor shrink and removed was no longer an option. We now know that whatever the treatment plan is...is just to keep the cancer at bay as long as possible while giving him some sort of quality of life.
Jerome knows he is going to die. His blood family is in New Jersey and he is in California....3000 miles away. He wants more than anything to say what he needs to say face to face to the people who knew him best and loved him most before he ever came to California. We want more than anything to help him get that wish.
The money we are trying to raise is to get him to New Jersey and back and for helping with food he needs and clothes that will fit since he has lost nearly 100 lbs in the last several months. And to be blunt, expenses related to his passing when the Lord decides to take him home.
This is Jerome's Journey. In more than one sense. We are trying to help him get his journey home. And then he will make his journey..."home".
Please help if you can.