Justin Brown's Recovery

Imagine being a normal, healthy, young adult... Every day you go to work, come home and take care of your wife and kids, go to sleep, wake up the next morning and do it all again. Typical adult lifestyle. Then you begin to feel the effects of what you think is working long hours (i.e., fatigue, weakness, relentless headaches, paleness, shortness of breath, irritability, etc.) Weeks go by and you start feeling worse. You begin losing color and even looking jaundiced. Climbing the stairs to tuck your children into bed becomes a chore. You keep thinking you're just being overworked and not getting enough sleep.... so you shrug it off and tell yourself you'll be okay. You’re a grown man and should be able to handle tough days, right? Your wife insists that you need to see a doctor. She won’t give up because she sees you withering away, so you make an appointment to appease her. This is where the story begins of Justin's disease, Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia......

What is it??? Autoimmune hemolytic anemia is a relatively rare condition, affecting one to three people per 100,000 per year. It occurs when your immune system makes antibodies that destroy your red blood cells (RBC). The lifetime of the RBCs is reduced from the normal 100-120 days to just a few days, in serious cases such as Justin’s. Symptoms of severe or rapid destruction of RBCs may include jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes), fever, chest pain, fainting, heart failure, and even death. When destruction persists for a few months or longer, the spleen may enlarge, resulting in a sense of abdominal fullness and, occasionally, discomfort.

Justin was first admitted to the hospital in 2013 (cover pic) and spent the majority of his time there in ICU. His hemoglobin count was 4.0 when admitted (a good level, for a man his size, is around 17). Generally, when someone has a hemoglobin count that low, they are either dead or clinging onto life. The doctors were unsure of the cause of his blood loss, so they began testing. He was poked, prodded, and scanned for several days, and they kept drawing blood, even when it seemed he didn’t have any left to give. Because of the rare nature of this condition, it took three days to get a diagnosis. Treatment started with a blood transfusion, which Justin’s body rejected due to his high antibody count. Luckily, a match was eventually found. The transfusion, paired with plasmapheresis and Rituxan (chemo treatment), Justin started getting color back in his skin and showing signs of life. He spent a total of eight days in the hospital, but it took almost a full year to get his hemoglobin count up to normal and stabilized. The doctors still are not 100% certain what caused the disease.

Fast forward to June of this year, he began to experience symptoms again, so he made an appointment. The doctor ordered labs only to discover his hemoglobin levels had dropped to 9. He was immediately prescribed Prednisone to reverse the effects of the disease. His levels began to climb back up to 12. Since he was improving, his prescription was reduced to wean him off of the steroid to avoid long-term issues.....  but then his levels dropped back down to 9 within a week. The next step was chemo treatments. Two weeks and two Rituxan treatments later, it's not working. So, it’s back to the hospital. He was admitted on August 12th with a hemoglobin level of 7, but it quickly dropped to 6.1 within hours. Treatments began…. two blood transfusions, neck catheter insertion for the four plasmapheresis treatments, painful bone marrow biopsy (to rule out cancer… still waiting on those results), pre-surgery procedure to shrink his swollen spleen, and pending surgery to remove his spleen, which is scheduled for August 17th.  This is an extremely abbreviated version of his journey, but it gives you a general idea of his struggles.

He has fought very hard and has stayed strong throughout this entire process. We are hopeful he will make a full recovery; however, in the meantime, his medical bills are piling up and he has a wife and four children to support. He is missing an extraordinary amount of work, and has no disability benefits to offset his lost income. With him being the sole support of his household, he is forced to ask for help. Justin is a prideful man, so asking for assistance is very difficult. If you feel it in your heart to donate, he and his family would be forever grateful. Thank you so much!

We will keep everyone updated on his surgery and recovery.