Lyn's Pancreatitis Recovery Fund

On your mark. Get Set. Give.

Lyn Peterson is almost completely bedridden and waiting for yet another surgery. On July 15th, the doctors are going to remove her pancreas completely—an operation so challenging the University of Minnesota Pancreas Center only performs two a month. They tell her that, after the surgery, she can expect at least two months of chronic post-operative pain.

The disease is called idiopathic chronic pancreatitis, and it’s been part of Lyn Barber Peterson’s day-to-day life for thirty years. It has cost her health. It hurts her family. This is a campaign to get them some relief.

You know Lyn. She’s a wife (Mark), mother of two (Gunnar, 6 - Kate, 5). She’s a daughter, sister, aunt, niece, friend and all-around-good-egg. But her chronic pancreatitis is seriously threatening every aspect of her life.

The disease itself. It hurts. The pain is excruciating. Lyn and Mark have made countless trips to the ER. They’ve undergone at least fifteen surgeries (ports, shunts, exploratory procedures, a central feeding line). They’ve ridden a roller coaster of promising procedures and crushing relapses.

It has been humiliating too. ER doctors and nurses unfamiliar with chronic pancreatitis have misdiagnosed it and accused her of being chronically alcoholic or a drug addict looking for pain pills.

It’s hard on family life and routines. Mark works second shift, gets home around two in the morning, then gets up and gets the kids dressed, fed, and off to school. He’s the family nurse, housekeeper, and cook. Other family members pitch in too (preparing meals, watching the kids and so on) but there’s so much that needs to be done. The stress is all-but overwhelming.

You can imagine the expenses Thoughts and prayers are good, but they need money. Lots of it. While you can’t make the pain go away, you can give and spread the word.

It’s time Lyn and her family got some relief from the crushing weight of this disease.