Mr. Keaton's Medical Fund
Donation protected
My name is Katie Keaton, daughter of beloved Mark Keaton of Greenbrier County and Vice Principal of Greenbrier East High School.
It has taken a lot to make this GoFundMe page, which i guess is the point-- only one knows they need help until they are run through the mud.
First off, let me give a big "THANK YOU!" to those of you that have helped my family so far-- encouragement, mowing our lawn, working the garden, prayer requests, odd jobs around the house, etc. I currently live in Charleston, SC and throughout the summer I was completing classes in nursing school. Traveling back to WV was nearly impossible for me, or at least impossible for me to visit as much as I wanted and needed. It ate me alive being at such a distance, but knowing that there have been people in the community that have cared enough to help my family has made me feel so much better. My Dad has recieved an abundance of encouragement, very much needed encouragement, from the staff and students of Greenbrier East High School as well as countless acts of kindness from neighbors, friends, family, and acquaintances. And for all of you WE ARE SO THANKFUL!
While this may be the case, my father still has a long road to recovery and with recovery comes expenses-- thus the need for a GoFundMe page.
Let me begin with the story of my Dad's illness:
The week of June 5th was normal for my Dad, he had finished up school and was looking forward to the summer. He planted the garden, brushhogged, mowed the lawn, and even dismantled a satellite dish--a satellite dish that, to much our surprise, remained laying in our backyard until only a few weeks ago (Today's date, Nov. 24th, 2016, Thanksgiving).
Because suddenly, on Sunday June 12th, my Dad began experiencing severe abdominal pain accompanied with nausea and vomiting. My Mom, who is a nurse, quickly took him to GVMC where he was admitted for pancreatitis. He remained at GVMC with steadily increasing work of breathing and uncontrolled pain. My father was finally transferred to CAMC Memorial hospital in Charleston, WV ( 2 hours and x2 $2.00 tolls from our home) per family request. Once he was admitted to CAMC he went into an uncontrolled, irregular heart rhythm (Atrial Fibrillation/A-fib) and had to be shocked (cardioverted) back into normal rhythm. The doctor's told my Mother that this was due to the pancreatitis attacking his lungs, producing fluid, and increasing his work of breathing which in turn put abnormal stress on his heart. He was quickly transferred to the MICU where my Mother was informed that he may need to be intubated over night. Throughout the night he went in and out of a-fib and was given meds to help control the rate of his heartbeat. Luckily, he never needed intubation. While in the MICU, blood cultures showed that he had gone septic (the infection had travelled into his blood) and that he not only had pancreatitis, he had necrotizing pancreatitis-- a severe form of pancreatitis where parts of the pancreas that have been attacked die. While he was at CAMC he had a drain inserted to help remove some of the fluid that had accumulating around his pancreas. With this first drain insertion he drained around 8lbs of infected fluid. He remained in the hospital at CAMC Memorial until July 21st when he returned home.
My dad was home for 5 days when my mother took him to the CAMC Memorial Hospital ER on July 27th because the previously mentioned drain was leaking uncontrollably. They admitted my father to the hospital at CAMC Memorial to determine what to do about the drain. During this stay at the hospital, he suffered from SIADH (a severe form of hormone, electrolyte, and fluid imbalance that can cause drowsiness and confusion among other things) and the doctor's discovered that the infection around his pancreas had "walled itself off" into abscesses. He underwent 3 different surgeries and drain placements to help remove infected fluid and dead tissue. With the first surgery the doctor's removed around 1 liter of fluid and 3 pounds of dead pancreatic tissue. The 3rd surgery cultured E. coli and VRE (a type of antibiotic resistant bacteria) infections. He was finally discharged from the hospital to home on August 12th with 2 drains, a PICC line, and IV antibiotics. Over the course of the next week, he developed confusion and hallucinations.
On August 20th, my mother transported my father back to CAMC Memorial Hospital ER where he was subsequently readmitted. After multiple consults, misdiagnoses, and tests it was found that his mental state was caused by an abnormal drug interaction with the antibiotics he was prescribed to treat his VRE. After the medications were discontinued his mental status began to improve and one of the drains was removed. He was discharged home with one large abdominal drain and IV antibotics on August 26th and has FINALLY remained unadmitted to the hospital since. Although this is the case, he has had multiple return visits to CAMC Memorial in Charleston, WV for doctor's appointments that require a 1 day trip or a 1-2 night stays.
Picture below is of my Dad the night of his last discharge on August 26th:
Although my Dad is finally home, he is still not out of the woods. He lost 60 pounds throughout his illness. The doctors have told him that the next step in his road to recovery is to gain weight. He suffers from constant pain from his pancreatitis and his gout, which is a pre-existing condition that is aggravated by the high protein meals he eats to try and gain weight. My mother and father still have a future of multiple trips to Charleston for CAT Scans and doctor consults. Eventually he will have a procedure to place a stent in his pancreatic ducts and there is the probability for additional surgery.
The financial impact has been pretty devastating for my family. The list seems to go on, but below are a few of the impacts we have experienced. Money raised from this page will help to pay for the below mentioned impacts.
-Travel expenses, lodging, and food. (My mother stayed 2 weeks in a hotel and her diet consisted of eating out-- each of these things adds up. The doctors appointments that my parents travel to and from also consist of gas and toll money and the occassional hotel stay. With my father's current situation, more traveling is expected to come.
-Living. My Mother was let go from her job because she has been by my father's side throughout his whole illness. The care my father needs is her current full time job. Although my father is on medical leave, his leave is currently covering household bills.
- Drain supplies. The drains that he has placed are different and require ostomy supplies, which insurance will not cover. These supplies can cost around $150 every 3 weeks.
-Medical bills. My parents have been told that they should expect to pay 20% of the total cost of care for home health and the IV antibiotic company. Since my father is currently under treatment by each of these companies, we still do not have a complete understanding of exactly how much will be owed.
The financial need is not necessarily immediate, but is more of a growing need. The bills are adding up and my Mother will not be returning to work anytime soon.
My family means the world to me. My dad and I have always been close and he's consistently shown me that he and my Mom are my biggest cheerleaders. This GoFundMe page is my way of helping to repay them.
The surrounding community, as well as our friends and family, have shown so much love to us, and for that we are extremely thankful. But with the uncertanty of the next few months, we are in need of financial assistance to help relieve the burden. We set the current goal at $20,000 to help account for my mother's lack of job and the other expenses from the illness. Even if you only donate $1.00, this small gesture of kindness will help my Dad through his road to recovery.
It has taken a lot to make this GoFundMe page, which i guess is the point-- only one knows they need help until they are run through the mud.
First off, let me give a big "THANK YOU!" to those of you that have helped my family so far-- encouragement, mowing our lawn, working the garden, prayer requests, odd jobs around the house, etc. I currently live in Charleston, SC and throughout the summer I was completing classes in nursing school. Traveling back to WV was nearly impossible for me, or at least impossible for me to visit as much as I wanted and needed. It ate me alive being at such a distance, but knowing that there have been people in the community that have cared enough to help my family has made me feel so much better. My Dad has recieved an abundance of encouragement, very much needed encouragement, from the staff and students of Greenbrier East High School as well as countless acts of kindness from neighbors, friends, family, and acquaintances. And for all of you WE ARE SO THANKFUL!
While this may be the case, my father still has a long road to recovery and with recovery comes expenses-- thus the need for a GoFundMe page.
Let me begin with the story of my Dad's illness:
The week of June 5th was normal for my Dad, he had finished up school and was looking forward to the summer. He planted the garden, brushhogged, mowed the lawn, and even dismantled a satellite dish--a satellite dish that, to much our surprise, remained laying in our backyard until only a few weeks ago (Today's date, Nov. 24th, 2016, Thanksgiving).
Because suddenly, on Sunday June 12th, my Dad began experiencing severe abdominal pain accompanied with nausea and vomiting. My Mom, who is a nurse, quickly took him to GVMC where he was admitted for pancreatitis. He remained at GVMC with steadily increasing work of breathing and uncontrolled pain. My father was finally transferred to CAMC Memorial hospital in Charleston, WV ( 2 hours and x2 $2.00 tolls from our home) per family request. Once he was admitted to CAMC he went into an uncontrolled, irregular heart rhythm (Atrial Fibrillation/A-fib) and had to be shocked (cardioverted) back into normal rhythm. The doctor's told my Mother that this was due to the pancreatitis attacking his lungs, producing fluid, and increasing his work of breathing which in turn put abnormal stress on his heart. He was quickly transferred to the MICU where my Mother was informed that he may need to be intubated over night. Throughout the night he went in and out of a-fib and was given meds to help control the rate of his heartbeat. Luckily, he never needed intubation. While in the MICU, blood cultures showed that he had gone septic (the infection had travelled into his blood) and that he not only had pancreatitis, he had necrotizing pancreatitis-- a severe form of pancreatitis where parts of the pancreas that have been attacked die. While he was at CAMC he had a drain inserted to help remove some of the fluid that had accumulating around his pancreas. With this first drain insertion he drained around 8lbs of infected fluid. He remained in the hospital at CAMC Memorial until July 21st when he returned home.
My dad was home for 5 days when my mother took him to the CAMC Memorial Hospital ER on July 27th because the previously mentioned drain was leaking uncontrollably. They admitted my father to the hospital at CAMC Memorial to determine what to do about the drain. During this stay at the hospital, he suffered from SIADH (a severe form of hormone, electrolyte, and fluid imbalance that can cause drowsiness and confusion among other things) and the doctor's discovered that the infection around his pancreas had "walled itself off" into abscesses. He underwent 3 different surgeries and drain placements to help remove infected fluid and dead tissue. With the first surgery the doctor's removed around 1 liter of fluid and 3 pounds of dead pancreatic tissue. The 3rd surgery cultured E. coli and VRE (a type of antibiotic resistant bacteria) infections. He was finally discharged from the hospital to home on August 12th with 2 drains, a PICC line, and IV antibiotics. Over the course of the next week, he developed confusion and hallucinations.
On August 20th, my mother transported my father back to CAMC Memorial Hospital ER where he was subsequently readmitted. After multiple consults, misdiagnoses, and tests it was found that his mental state was caused by an abnormal drug interaction with the antibiotics he was prescribed to treat his VRE. After the medications were discontinued his mental status began to improve and one of the drains was removed. He was discharged home with one large abdominal drain and IV antibotics on August 26th and has FINALLY remained unadmitted to the hospital since. Although this is the case, he has had multiple return visits to CAMC Memorial in Charleston, WV for doctor's appointments that require a 1 day trip or a 1-2 night stays.
Picture below is of my Dad the night of his last discharge on August 26th:
Although my Dad is finally home, he is still not out of the woods. He lost 60 pounds throughout his illness. The doctors have told him that the next step in his road to recovery is to gain weight. He suffers from constant pain from his pancreatitis and his gout, which is a pre-existing condition that is aggravated by the high protein meals he eats to try and gain weight. My mother and father still have a future of multiple trips to Charleston for CAT Scans and doctor consults. Eventually he will have a procedure to place a stent in his pancreatic ducts and there is the probability for additional surgery.
The financial impact has been pretty devastating for my family. The list seems to go on, but below are a few of the impacts we have experienced. Money raised from this page will help to pay for the below mentioned impacts.
-Travel expenses, lodging, and food. (My mother stayed 2 weeks in a hotel and her diet consisted of eating out-- each of these things adds up. The doctors appointments that my parents travel to and from also consist of gas and toll money and the occassional hotel stay. With my father's current situation, more traveling is expected to come.
-Living. My Mother was let go from her job because she has been by my father's side throughout his whole illness. The care my father needs is her current full time job. Although my father is on medical leave, his leave is currently covering household bills.
- Drain supplies. The drains that he has placed are different and require ostomy supplies, which insurance will not cover. These supplies can cost around $150 every 3 weeks.
-Medical bills. My parents have been told that they should expect to pay 20% of the total cost of care for home health and the IV antibiotic company. Since my father is currently under treatment by each of these companies, we still do not have a complete understanding of exactly how much will be owed.
The financial need is not necessarily immediate, but is more of a growing need. The bills are adding up and my Mother will not be returning to work anytime soon.
My family means the world to me. My dad and I have always been close and he's consistently shown me that he and my Mom are my biggest cheerleaders. This GoFundMe page is my way of helping to repay them.
The surrounding community, as well as our friends and family, have shown so much love to us, and for that we are extremely thankful. But with the uncertanty of the next few months, we are in need of financial assistance to help relieve the burden. We set the current goal at $20,000 to help account for my mother's lack of job and the other expenses from the illness. Even if you only donate $1.00, this small gesture of kindness will help my Dad through his road to recovery.
Organizer and beneficiary
Katie Grace Keaton
Organizer
Lewisburg, WV
Kathryn Keaton
Beneficiary