Caring for Knier-Kicking Cancer

October of 2014 started this journey for David.  What would appear to be a simple cold sore several years ago in the mouth continued to grow into a tumor.  A biopsy was perfomed and David was diagnoised with a maglignant neoplasm of bone, articular cartilage, skin, floor of mouth, and unspecified parts of the mouth (more determined after surgery). After seeking several doctors for advice, surgery was elected.  So for 2 months, David continued to work through all his pain up until a week before an extensive surgery that was scheduled for December 2, 2014 at MD Anderson in Houston.  During that time, David flew down to Houston several times prior to surgery in preparation for it.

The day that we never thought would get here for some relief for David finally arrived after waiting for 2 months. On Tuesday, December 2, check in at MD Anderson began at 7 am.  What was scheduled to be an 8 -10 hour surgery ended up being 16 hours.  We were the last family in the waiting room at 2:15 am on Wednesday morning. The surgery procedure included removal of the mandible and loss of bottom teeth from molar to molar, removal of the tumor in the chin area which removed the chin and bottom lip, removal of lymph nodes in the neck, and the plastic surgery to rebuild the neck, chin, and lip area.  The donor area for rebuilding of the jaw bone was extracted from David's tibia, along with muscle and tissue from both legs.

After being in ICU for two days, David was moved to room 1105.  We were anticipating a 7-10 day which ended up being a 16 day stay.  During this time, a feeding tube was placed in his stomach vs. the nose because of the extreme swelling and not able to pass the swallow test.

On Saturday, December 20, David was moved to Select Speciality Hospital in Houston where he remains today for further care to his wounds, pain management, feedings, and speech and physical  therapy. A follow up appointment is scheduled back at MD Anderson on January 7 and 8.

David is very fortunate to have great family support, a great job with insurance , and friends that care deeply for him. The unfortunate part of David's story is that more medical procedures will be needed during his illness, along with travel and living expenses during his stay in Houston. David will also not be able to return to work for 9-12 months.  He has a large copay with his insurance and the deductible will start over at the first of the year. 

The song "We All Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends" is the theme  for this campaign. David  is one of those kind and caring individuals that would rather give then receive. He has played in numerous benefit golf tournaments. He will also empty his pockets for any benefit jar sitting in a store. Let's join together in CARING FOR KNIER-Kicking  Cancer campaign by taking some of the finiancial burden off of him and his family. 

A year long of ongoing medical expenses can be overwhelming for any family. Thank you for contributing to a good cause.