Hello, my name is Jenn. Jeremy is my husband of 24 years. For those who don’t already know Jeremy, he truly is the man who would give you the shirt off his back. He’s a strong man who has a work ethic to be admired and has worked hard his entire life. He loves his family deeply and is the backbone of his family. He’s been a leader for the youth in our community for several years, leading the Cadillac High School Bowling teams as their head coach. Jeremy loves to bowl, golf, camp, and is an excellent pitmaster. Jeremy and I have four wonderful children and seven spunky grandchildren.
A little back story.
In 2009, Jeremy was taken into the ER with what was thought to be kidney stones. After a scan of his abdomen, he was told he had a “watermelon-sized tumor.” He was referred to Grand Rapids surgical oncology and had surgery to remove a twenty-two-pound tumor that was cancerous. He was diagnosed with a well-differentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma. He’s had numerous recurrences of liposarcoma and has needed resections of those tumors and had metastatic tumors removed from his groin. Jeremy has lost his right kidney and appendix, both due to complications from surgery. Several of his resections have resulted in having parts of his large and small bowel removed due to tumors.
Current health concerns.
The normal male has a digestive tract of at least 15 feet. Jeremy has been left with only 5 feet. This has resulted in malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies, chronic digestive issues, dehydration, debilitating pain and cramping in his abdomen causing several ER visits, missed work and hobbies, overwhelming fatigue due to malabsorption, and weight loss due to poor nutrient absorption. Jeremy has lost 100 pounds due to these gastrointestinal complications.
My hope.
After consulting with Jeremy’s primary care physician, oncologist, and gastroenterologist, we’ve come to the decision it’s time to take him to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ. There he will see a team of specialists who will be able to review his history, perform tests, and help come up with a plan of treatment going forward. While Jeremy has outstanding medical coverage that will cover all of his treatments while at Mayo, they do not cover the additional costs incurred with this appointment. We’ll have the extra expenses of food, lodging, transportation, and travel.
First and foremost, we ask for prayers for answers and a treatment plan that will greatly improve his quality of life. If you are only able to offer prayers, good vibes, virtual love, and hugs, we gladly accept all of those. If you are able to help us cover the costs to get Jeremy this invaluable appointment, we will be forever grateful. The treatments offered at Mayo Clinic are truly life-changing. Thank you for reading his story, may God bless you now and always.
