Help for the Nyenhuis Family

I think we were all hoping that we'd never be back in this scenario again, but here we are 5 years later, and Dave has been having complications from his previous health issues. Dave and his family could use your help and your prayers to get them all through what will surely be a trying few months ahead.

If you're reading this, you likely know that Dave had an extremely scary health issue five years ago, when an exploratory procedure sent him into a severe case of pancreatitis and he spent many many months fighting for his life. It was a long struggle, and he, along with the help of his family and a great team of doctors worked hard to not only survive, but to thrive. Life has been good since his recovery, and Dave has probably been healthier than ever before, but this summer some of his old symptoms started to return. He was itchy, irritable, quickly losing weight, weak, and just felt bad.

After many tests... and a lot of "encouragement" from Kim (she was persistent with the medical team making sure they found answers about his symptoms), Dave received the news that no one wanted to hear—invasive adenocarcinoma: biliary cancer.

Please see the family's Caring Bridge website for more details and updates on his health, appointments and scheduled surgeries.

Dave is scheduled for surgery on Monday 12/11, when his surgical team plans to remove his blocked bile ducts and about 75% of his liver, then reconstruct the biliary system with his small intestines. The hope is that his liver will regenerate. As his sister said on the Caring Bridge page, it's a big scary surgery and everyone is in a bit of shock over the big "C" word right now.

Obviously there will be a substantial loss of income while Dave is recovering, so we wanted to start up a new page for anyone that feels compelled to help.

Oh—and if you are the praying type, please say a prayer for Dave. I'm sure that many of you reading this will agree that Dave is one of the kindest and most generous people on this earth. I love him like he's my own brother. ♥️ He has been through so much and has so much more to see and do.