Stand with Daniel in His Battle for Health

On behalf of my brother-in-law, Daniel Morris, I'd like to tell a story....

In December 2023, Daniel and his wife Makala went to the Emergency Room for severe abdominal pain, something Daniel had never felt before. After a CT scan was done, Daniel was diagnosed with diverticulitis. Daniel was admitted to the hospital for observation so his wife Makala went ahead and went to work, please note this was her LAST day of work before she started her new job in the upcoming weeks.

That very night, things took a turn for the worse... all of a sudden Daniel was in uncontrollable pain, his lips turned blue, he couldn't breathe... his bowel perforated. Now if you're in the medical field like myself (ICU Nurse) then you know this is a medical emergency! Daniel was rushed to the OR and after several hours he returned to the floor with a colostomy. Daniel and Makala remained in the hospital for several days as Daniel had to have IV antibiotics.

Daniel was discharged home with a home health nurse to assist with his colostomy. Soon Makala and Daniel gained confidence with managing his colostomy. Especially knowing that in a few months he would have a reversal surgery done.

SIX MONTHS LATER... Daniel and Makala return to the hospital for the colostomy reversal surgery. Excited as they were, this was the next step to get back to normal, right in time for their annual float trip.

Unfortunately none of this story goes Daniel's way. Once out of surgery Daniel was immediately nauseous and in lots of pain. The colostomy was reversed but Daniel knew something wasn't right. Makala would not leave Daniel's side as she was afraid something bad would happen again. Thank goodness she stayed, even though it impacted her new job, Daniel needed her to advocate for him because something was wrong and no one was listening... finally, another CT scan was done and revealed that Daniel suffered a large hernia and possible leak at the reversal site but was deemed as a "normal finding" and sent home a few days later.

Once Daniel was home and on the road to recovery, he was still running low-grade fevers, unable to regulate his temperature. He went to have his staples removed and mentioned to the physician the fevers but no intervention was warranted as low grade fevers were his only symptoms.

Not even a month later.... Daniel is in that horrible pain once again and Makala is rushing him to the Emergency Room. The CT scan showed the possible leak again and was admitted to the hospital. Daniel remained on the medical surgical floor for two days having many tests and labs drawn. Finally, Daniel had a barium CT scan to verify if he truly did have a leak or if this was "normal findings" after surgery. Sure enough, the CT revealed the leak. Daniel was back to his room after the procedure and yet again, things took a turn for the worse...

Daniel started shaking, he was so cold, his temp was 103, his heart rate was in the 140s, he yelled out, "NO! NO! NO! I PERFED!" ..... a rapid response was called and Daniel was transferred to the ICU. All of the barium leaked right into his abdomen. Daniel had a leak the entire time.

Knowing that Daniel had a leak the surgeon consulted several colleagues regarding this situation as a leak post colostomy reversal was rare. Daniel was given a choice to wait a few days on IV antibiotics and see if it would heal on its own or have another surgery. Daniel made the brave choice to have a THIRD open abdominal surgery, only 26 days since his last surgery, to address this leak and the other possibilities that could be making him so sick. Thank goodness Daniel made this decision, otherwise he may not be here today. The surgeon spoke with his wife Makala and myself right after the surgery was complete. We were not prepared for what he was about to say...

Daniel's surgery revealed more than just a leak at his old colostomy site. Daniel's large and small intestines were all very swollen, he had numerous pockets of fluid and abscesses, and a small bowel obstruction (AGAIN, a medical emergency). Daniel has a very thick abdominal muscle wall so his severely inflamed and swollen intestines were essentially trapped. A colostomy was placed in order to let his abdomen bowel heal. For almost a month Daniels body was fighting hard against this leak and infection until it finally gave out.

Daniel was planned to have a PICC line (large IV) placed so he could receive IV nutrition as he will not be allowed to eat or drink anything and an NG tube in his nose to make sure nothing moves through his intestinal tract.

Daniel has a very long road ahead of him. He is unable to work. His wife Makala has remained at his side as time and time again there were moments she thought this was his last. Makala's new job may be in jeopardy as she does not qualify for FMLA.

PLEASE, please help these two in whatever way you can! They've been through hell these last few weeks and now face the reality of making ends meet. Anything will help and will go towards Daniel's hospital bills, rent, and other necessary bills.