Tim's Fight For Life

Hi, my name is Candi and I am raising funds for Tim Wadle. Tim is a 52-year-old Otherwise, extremely healthy man. He is the love of my life, my soulmate, and I thank God for him every day. Tim is a devoted and loving husband, dad, grandpa, son, brother, and friend to all! This is Tim's story: approximately 11 months ago, Tim had a couple short of breath episodes within a few weeks of each other and feeling fatigued. We are pretty active people who keep busy all of the time between working for a living and camping in our spare time. Obviously, we are getting older so we just kind of passed it off as exactly that... And it's catching up with us. As months passed, Tim's short of breath and fatigue became severe. He struggled walking from one side of the yard to the other, from the car to the front door , and going up a flight of stairs just to go to bed, was an absolute chore. He would have to sit and take a breath before continuing on into the bedroom. I remember it was the weekend and it was the middle of the night Saturday night. Tim woke up at 3 AM and couldn't breathe, could not sleep, could not get comfortable, and was not himself. He took himself to the couch, and I followed him down there, and laid beside him, as he finally was able to fall asleep. I listened and watched as he struggled to breathe in his sleep, I asked him if we needed to go to the emergency room. We talked about going to urgent care, and he just wanted to give it one more day. That following Monday morning, I made an appointment as soon as the doctors office opened. After the appointment with our PCP, Tim was referred to many different doctors and in many different directions, but the day that we walked into the cardiologist is the day that changed our lives forever! We had no idea what we're about to be told, all of the testing that they would put Tim through and the lifestyle change that was about to come upon us. Devastation, shock, heartbroken, anger and complete denial, are just a few of the emotions that we both felt that day, and every day since. Tim has been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, LBBB, ejection fraction and mixed hyperlipidemia. The average person's heart pumps at 55 to 70%, Tim's heart is pumping at 15%. The doctors have been in shock and stunned at his age and good health, the severity of the damage done to his heart. They informed us that all of his numbers are critical, and with the damage done to his heart that it is not repairable. They told us that day and multiple times since Tim would have up to five years of life left to live. Because of his critical numbers and his age and his otherwise good health, they tell us Tim qualifies for a heart transplant. We are still going to doctors appointments and they are still testing him. He was recently with a heart monitor and we go back for another appointment to see what our next steps are. Every day is different for Tim, even every moment in a day is different. His blood pressure is up and down, he experiences new things that he hasn't experienced before with heart palpitations, occasional chest pains, lightheadedness, and vision issues. I cannot imagine how he must feel or what he must think. But as his wife and his best friend, this breaks me more than words can possibly express. We are asking for prayers. Tim is not able to go back to work, and has been told that even after a heart transplant, he still probably will not be able to go back to work with the trade that he is in. He has worked many years, and he has worked hard to get where he is at, it was his goal in that trade, and we continuously talked about working for retirement and growing old together and being able to actually enjoy all of that. Now, our conversations are a little different, and Tim not being able to make it to that stage or healthy enough to enjoy it. This was not in our plans!!! We are working on and checking all avenues and what directions to go. But in the meantime, our struggle is real. Tim is Local 33 Journeyman Plumber Steamfitter/Welder, holding a plumbing license and mechanical license. The income we have can't compare to what he was providing before this all happened. Medical bills are piling in, we are not able to monthly pay for a roof over our head and utilities. It has changed everything and we are at a loss. We just keep praying and hoping for the best, and in the meantime, trying to figure out how we're supposed to live to get us through this obstacle that will not keep us down. Although there is a long road ahead, and we are still in denial of it all, we pray for the best. Tim's got this! Please keep him in your prayers. Asking for donations is hard, it is really hard, and I never thought we would do this or have to do this. You see it all of the time, but it never crosses your mind that it would be for yourselves. We are thankful for any and all help!