Save my brother from life threatening diseases

This is my brother Jake during one of his many extended stays at the hospital.  Jake has extremely severe and complex medical problems that he has been struggling with for years.  He has gone through unimaginable suffering, but has managed to still stay positive through this whole ordeal.  However, it has gotten to the point where his body is a ticking time bomb and  we need to take speedy and drastic action in order for him to survive this.  Me and Jake have had our ups and downs over the years(like any siblings) but we have grown so close in the recent years that i'm not sure what i would do without him!  My brother doesn't ask for much.  He just wants to survive and live happily with the love of his life, Avery.   

Pictured below is Jake and Avery ( with me third wheeling of course).


Jakes medical problems are extremely complex. First off, he has severe Crohn's disease. A group of Emory researches told him he is within the top 50 cases in the country for his age group in the entire country (within the past 5 years). 

The Crohn's started at 18. and he 25 now. It went from ultra-severe (diarrhea 40 times a day, severe stomach cramps, severe joint pain, dropped to 84 pounds, bleeding, too weak to get out of bed, constantly in and out of hospitals) to moderate after the full removal of his colon and rectum.

However, the Crohns has recently become severe again, only at a different part of his body. Jake has had to have repeat surgeries. Just yesterday, he had to have emergency surgery for an abscess. He currently must deal with a perianal fistula. 

But things don't stop there. About a year and a half ago, he developed IC and recurrent urinary tract infections. After this diagnosis, he became unable to work consistently for the past year and half due to constant severe pain and IC flairs that would make him unable to leave the bathroom for hours at a time.

The infections come back over and over again. He's developed 18 severe infections since the condition started.  He's had to be hospitalized multiple times, including recently when the infection spread to his testicle. 

I have personally seen the devastation these infections cause. He pees blood, gets delirious, shakes, has constant agonizing pain, and the severe urge to pee that never goes away. Antibiotics are the only treatment but over time the bacteria build up resistance. He is now at the point where the oral antibiotics are not working and he is at risk at developing an infection that will not respond to treatment. 

If the infection isn't treated it will spread to his kidneys and/or cause sepsis. This has happened to a family friend with IC and repeat infections and is becoming an increasingly real possibility. This is because Jake is now at the point where within a week after finishing his antibiotic, the infection comes back. This has happened 4 times in a row. 

To add insult to injury, the antibiotics make his Crohns symptoms significantly worse. His surgeon tells him that if he can't get off the antibiotics he will lose his J pouch (fake colon constructed out of small intestine) and end up with a permanent ostomy bag.

Believe it or not, these infections are by far the worse problem than his Crohn's. Without a solution, they will kill him sooner rather than later. The only solution we have found is bladder catheters. 

This treatment consists of small catheters that contain antibiotics. Unlike oral antibiotics, they do not have widespread effects that destroy his system and make his Crohns worse. Therefore he will be able to tolerate them daily and not come off. The doctor he is seeing believes that with about a year of daily bladder catheters the infections will go away permanently. 

So, this is what we need first - the ability to pay for the bladder catheters. We need this as soon as humanly possible. 

Next, we need help with his Crohns disease bills. He has no ability to work and has completely run out of money. But he needs the medications and to continue seeing his doctor. 

And, if that is paid for, we are also considering going to the Cleveland clinic to try to find the underlying cause of these severe bladder infections and/or get top of the line Crohn's treatment. Doctors are completely baffled by the urinary issue but maybe they can figure it out there.


I am in college a the moment and am looking for any ways possible to help him.    He desperately needs your support. He is a good person that has fallen on horrible luck. He has been given a bad hand in life. For much of his youth, he has lived in constant pain and fear and he now fears this is finally the end-of-the-line for him. He feels trapped and hopeless and has mentioned suicide. 

He has a fiancee that loves him and will do anything for him. She desperately wants him to live as do I. We graciously ask for your support so we can give him the help he so desperately needs.

Thanks, 

Grant O'Callaghan (Brother)

This is a picture of me and jake from years ago
 
Just for fun: heres a picture of me and jake before my first day of school