Strong 4 Silas - The Wheeler Family Fund
Donation protected
Friends of the Wheeler Family have set up this fundraising effort to support Dave and Rachel as they walk with their son Silas through his medical journey.
Silas has been having reoccurring bouts with pneumonia since June 2019. In early December when the 2nd bout flared his primary doctor referred him to pediatric pulmonology. He had an appointment scheduled but the week before that appointment the pneumonia symptoms flared again.
His symptoms increased and he was taken to Carle Sunday evening February 9th. They ran several blood tests and x-rays. The pulmonologist he was supposed to see later that week asked to have him admitted.
Further CT scans and bronchoscopy that week at Carle revealed a tumor in the bronchial tube. The tests showed the tumor blocking 80-90% of his lower right lung. The pulmonologist met with surgeon team etc. and came to the decision that no one at Carle could do this surgery which required a Pediatric Thoracic Lung Surgeon with a Tumor Specialty.
We had to research options and places that would do pediatric lung / tumor surgery. God was gracious through friends and family we were led to a couple of options. God made it clear that Dr. Renyonlds in Chicago became the best option for what this would entail. Carle made the decision to transfer him to Northwestern’s Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago as soon as they could. He was moved by ambulance Friday February 14th around 10:30pm.
Lurie’s Oncology and Surgical team met with us and worked to make plans and gather further information. They did a CT scan which confirmed Carle’s results however, indicated that his lower right lung was completely blocked and collapsed. They set up an additional PET scan to check for any other cancerous tumors. The PET scan that Silas needed involved a rare nuclear contrast/dye. The dye is very specialized and only made in doses of 3 per entire Chicago area. He was going to have to wait until February 25th for the dye to come.
At this point he was pretty sick and weak, so the decision was being made whether to do surgery earlier to get the tumor out and then do PET scans etc. In that time God worked. The new antibiotics he was on worked to control fever. He regained some strength, and they were able to secure a dye earlier. The new plan was for the PET scan to be done Friday February 21st and Surgery Tuesday February 25th.
The PET scan results indicated the same tumor spot they were concerned about and an adjoining lymph node also showing concern.
Surgery plan was to remove the tumor, the lymph node showing concern and both the lower right and middle lobes of the lung in a 3-4 hour surgery.
Things did not go as planned due to unforeseen circumstances. The amount of infection found once in surgery took 2 ½ hours to remove before they could begin to reach the lung and remove the tumor and lymph node. He endured over 9 hours of surgery, not including the prep with anesthesia. He was cared for by an amazingly gifted and skilled surgical team. God provided a wonderful team of medical professionals to surround Silas and care for him. Post-surgery he is experiencing excruciating pain.
He made a turn toward positive getting up and about over the weekend only to be given a huge step back with high fever resulting in another surgery to have a lung tube/drain put back in to test the chest fluids for any infection.
To date Silas has been hospitalized for over 20 days. His parents Dave and Rachel have never left him, spending all their time at Carle and now Lurie Children’s Hospital while his siblings stay with family.
The donations given will assist the Wheeler Family with the daily expenses of living at the hospital and with the medical expenses that have been incurred and will be coming from future medical attention.
We thank you for your prayers and are truly grateful for your support.
Silas has been having reoccurring bouts with pneumonia since June 2019. In early December when the 2nd bout flared his primary doctor referred him to pediatric pulmonology. He had an appointment scheduled but the week before that appointment the pneumonia symptoms flared again.
His symptoms increased and he was taken to Carle Sunday evening February 9th. They ran several blood tests and x-rays. The pulmonologist he was supposed to see later that week asked to have him admitted.
Further CT scans and bronchoscopy that week at Carle revealed a tumor in the bronchial tube. The tests showed the tumor blocking 80-90% of his lower right lung. The pulmonologist met with surgeon team etc. and came to the decision that no one at Carle could do this surgery which required a Pediatric Thoracic Lung Surgeon with a Tumor Specialty.
We had to research options and places that would do pediatric lung / tumor surgery. God was gracious through friends and family we were led to a couple of options. God made it clear that Dr. Renyonlds in Chicago became the best option for what this would entail. Carle made the decision to transfer him to Northwestern’s Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago as soon as they could. He was moved by ambulance Friday February 14th around 10:30pm.
Lurie’s Oncology and Surgical team met with us and worked to make plans and gather further information. They did a CT scan which confirmed Carle’s results however, indicated that his lower right lung was completely blocked and collapsed. They set up an additional PET scan to check for any other cancerous tumors. The PET scan that Silas needed involved a rare nuclear contrast/dye. The dye is very specialized and only made in doses of 3 per entire Chicago area. He was going to have to wait until February 25th for the dye to come.
At this point he was pretty sick and weak, so the decision was being made whether to do surgery earlier to get the tumor out and then do PET scans etc. In that time God worked. The new antibiotics he was on worked to control fever. He regained some strength, and they were able to secure a dye earlier. The new plan was for the PET scan to be done Friday February 21st and Surgery Tuesday February 25th.
The PET scan results indicated the same tumor spot they were concerned about and an adjoining lymph node also showing concern.
Surgery plan was to remove the tumor, the lymph node showing concern and both the lower right and middle lobes of the lung in a 3-4 hour surgery.
Things did not go as planned due to unforeseen circumstances. The amount of infection found once in surgery took 2 ½ hours to remove before they could begin to reach the lung and remove the tumor and lymph node. He endured over 9 hours of surgery, not including the prep with anesthesia. He was cared for by an amazingly gifted and skilled surgical team. God provided a wonderful team of medical professionals to surround Silas and care for him. Post-surgery he is experiencing excruciating pain.
He made a turn toward positive getting up and about over the weekend only to be given a huge step back with high fever resulting in another surgery to have a lung tube/drain put back in to test the chest fluids for any infection.
To date Silas has been hospitalized for over 20 days. His parents Dave and Rachel have never left him, spending all their time at Carle and now Lurie Children’s Hospital while his siblings stay with family.
The donations given will assist the Wheeler Family with the daily expenses of living at the hospital and with the medical expenses that have been incurred and will be coming from future medical attention.
We thank you for your prayers and are truly grateful for your support.
Organizer and beneficiary
Melissa Dempsey
Organizer
Champaign, IL
David Wheeler
Beneficiary