UPDATE: With Michele's permission, she asked that I share the heartbreaking update that, sadly, Kevin passed away last night, a little before midnight, with Michele and his four amazing kids by his side. We, the friends of the Lawson family, want to continue to support the Lawson family during this incredibly difficult time. If you are reading this, please consider donating. Every little bit helps! We also kindly ask you to share this page with as many people as possible! Let's shower this sweet family with as much love and support as possible!

Original post on Kevin's medical journey:

The friends of the Lawson family would like to help raise funds as Kevin continues his long road to recovery.

As many of you know, on Tuesday, August 23rd, Kevin was taken to St. Mary’s Emergency Room due to severe abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with gallstones, some of which had gotten stuck in the duct leading to his pancreas. The stuck gallstones then caused pancreatitis.

The following day, he was scheduled to have a procedure that would clean out the duct and remove the stones. The procedure went as planned; however, later that afternoon, Kevin was having trouble breathing. A CT scan showed he had acquired aspirated pneumonia, so they quickly moved him to the ICU floor and put him on oxygen, where he remained for the next several days.

Saturday, August 27th, Kevin continued to have trouble breathing, even with the oxygen, so the doctors decided the best option was to temporarily put him on a ventilator and transfer him to St. Vincent’s Hospital.

After 11 days of being on the ventilator and many different medications, he was put on a BiPap machine to help him breathe.

Kevin was starting to make some progress, and the medical team decided to move him to the rehab floor, where he would start 4 hours of intense therapy every day. The therapy was going well but he was still having difficulty eating due to the inflammation and pressure from the pancreatitis, which was putting a lot of pressure on his stomach.

On October 2nd, unfortunately, there was a setback. The doctors determined the pressure in his abdomen was actually fluid and dead tissue building in a sac, which was said to be the size of a volleyball. At that point, there was a consultation with UW Madison to see if he needed to be moved there to meet with a pancreatic surgeon.

On October 4th, he was moved off the rehab floor to a different floor to address his needs. They were not able to move him to Madison due to beds not being available. His medical team put a stint in to drain the fluid through his stomach. The procedure went well, and the doctors were pleased with the outcome.

Currently, Kevin remains in the hospital, where he will continue to receive medical treatment for an unknown amount of time.

Kevin and his family have been through so much over the past few months, and the road to recovery is long. Kevin is a selfless, hardworking, and very loyal husband, father and friend to many. He doesn't like to ask for help, but he is in a fight to become strong again! Please consider donating to this amazing family and help ease some of the burdens.

Love,

Friends of the Lawson Family