Complications - Surgery Leaves Father Unemployed

Immediate Help Needed for Unemployed Father of 2 with surgical complications

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Dear Friends, Family, Good Samaritans, and friends of Bill W., 

My name is Mark Andrews. I am a single father of two girls, 14 and 16. I need to raise $75,000 immediately for a Rent, Bills, and Medical Bills.  I am unemployed, and have many complications from the major surgery I had on my esophagus in November.  

From November 15 to now, I have been in a hospital for a little over 6 weeks combined.  I need funds immediately to help pay my rent and bills, and try to begin working on my medical bills that are in the thousands of dollars.  

My health is very frail, physically and mentally.  My new esophagus is already containing an ulcer and I have 2 additional ones in my lower intestines.  I do not have any sort of stomach as when they removed my esophagus, they rebuilt it using my stomach.  I am in discomfort every waking minute, and eating is something that is complicated to do.  I am pleading for any size donation and asking that you share my story with your contacts.  The sharing of my story is the single most important way that I can receive donations from Friends, Family, Good Samaritans, and friends of Bill W.   I can not thank you enough for your assistance.

This is my original Story:

I went to my Gastroenterologist for an endoscopy. It revealed that I had class 4 or D Esophagitis, the worst that you can get. He informed me that 3/4 of my Esophagus was severely ulcered as well as my stomach. He sent me to OHSU, the best hospital in Oregon, to speak with their Gastroenterology Team as well as their Surgical Unit.  Approximately 10 years ago I needed surgery to help repair my esophagus at the same hospital. It unfortunately did not last as was hoped for.  It was everyone's unanimous opinion that this operation is imperative for me to have immediately. 

The staff at OHSU told me that I needed to have surgery as soon as possible and have my entire esophagus removed and rebuilt with what is left of the lining in my stomach.  This type of operation is uncommon, but survivable.  Unfortunately in my case it is going to be an incredibly difficult operation and recovery as there are other factors involved.  It is a 7-10 hour operation that would require 3 different surgeons. I would be in the ICU for at least a week and then at least two more weeks in the hospital before I am released to go home. They described the Surgery in detail and told me that this will be a Life-Altering event.  This is an incredibly invasive operation and there could be many complications.  They will attempt to perform most of the surgery through laparoscopy; however, if they are not able to surgically continue with that type of procedure, then they will need to open me up from my neck to my stomach, which will impact my rehabilitation drastically. 

The doctors found a few different disorders contributing to my disease and informed me that I have one of the worst cases that they have seen.  They will be attempting to rectify these disorders as well during the surgery. During my endoscopy, biopsies were taken and thankfully no cancer was found at this time; however, as I continue without the surgery, my chances of getting cancer begin to rise.  Medications alone will not cure this disease. 

Currently, my quality of life is extremely low.  I am in great pain almost all of the time and have lost close to 30 pounds in a relatively short period.  Eating or drinking causes additional pain.  Adding to that, I live in Eugene, Oregon where the wildfires are burning out of control.  My pain levels are heightened due to the acidic nature of the smoke.  

I have acid burning reflux every night to the point that it is now aspirating into my windpipes and will eventually begin causing damage to my lungs and puts me at great risk for getting pneumonia. It doesn’t matter if I am sitting up while I sleep or laying down. During the day I can only be on my feet or sitting for an hour or two before needing to lay down supported by many pillows. At times I am unable to accomplish the simplest of tasks such as doing laundry, shopping for food, or even cooking a meal for my children.  

I will have a feeding tube for 3-6 months if everything goes well. My main diet for the first 3-4 months will be a specialized protein drink of which I will need to drink three per day.  They are not cheap and unfortunately insurance will not cover them. I will have a nurse visiting me at home for the first few months throughout the week to check on my incisions and feeding tube.  I have been instructed by the physicians to have someone at my house for at least the first 3-4 weeks, 24 hours a day, in order to help me with basic functions until I am strong enough to do them myself. They highly suggested getting someone who was an experienced caregiver, which will be another major expense. 
 
Currently, I am highly anemic and beginning to become malnourished.  This operation must take place within a month of me starting this fundraiser, so I am hoping to have the surgery sometime around the end of October or early November.  My place of employment has been very generous with putting me on light duty.  I’ve already used up 1 month of my leave that is protected under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  I will have approximately two more months with my job being protected.  After that time the agency will consider extending my leave, or possibly letting me go.  If they do decide the latter, I would need to pay for my own insurance, which as of now is quite a bit monthly and will be going up as this is the time for the organization to negotiate new rates with the insurance company.  I will also need to pay my rent and other bills and need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Before returning home, I will need to purchase a specialized adjustable bed as I will not be able to lay flat sleeping every again. My diet will be fully liquid for at least 6 months, and I need to invest in a good blender system that will last. When I return to home, if there are not any complications, I would not be able to return to work for at least 2-4 months, but need to plan for at least 6 months of no income.  I am a Mental Health Professional working with children and families and love my job.  Unfortunately, I have needed to use quite a bit of my sick-leave in order to go to the necessary doctor appointments over this past year.  I do not have enough accumulated sick leave to pay my bills while being out of work up to possibly 6 months.

I will be needing to pay someone to look after me for the first 2-4 weeks upon my return home.  I am trying to raise 35,000 which would cover all the variables in case I have one of the many different complications. If all goes well, my children will be able to return home with me within a few weeks.  I have never needed to fundraise in the way that I find myself doing now.  With COVID19, as well as all the wildfires and people being displaced due to the dangers of losing their homes, this is not the most opportune time to ask for financial assistance; however, every dollar counts and the closer I get to my goal, the faster I can schedule my surgery and begin my long road of rehabilitation.  My children will be living elsewhere during the surgery, and I look forward to them being able to return home as quickly as possible. My oldest daughter lives between her mother’s and my home, so she has a familiar place to stay, and my youngest lives with me fulltime and will be staying with friends or relatives until I am ready to have her come home. 

Your thoughts, prayers and if able, donations, are all greatly appreciated.  I am unsure where this journey will take me, but know that with your support, and God watching over me and my children, that this will end with the greatest of blessings. Please share this among your contacts as I know that reaching deep is probably the only way I will raise this kind of money.
 
Thank you for your time, thoughts and prayers while reading this. 
God Bless You, 
Mark P. Andrews