Graham Baldwin Donation Fund

Many of you wanted an update and for those whom have not read this, here is my story. My wife finally lost her life from her long battle with cancer in 2005. I took care of her and her mother, who also had cancer. Her mother passed away a month before my wife. The cost of medicines, medical equipment, extensive surgeries and nurses was astronomical. I am still paying these expenses to date. I refinanced my home and liquidated all finances to pay for all of the medical debt. I worked two jobs while taking care of a small child.  In 2006 I was diagnosed with benign tumors in my head and jaw. For the next several years, I was treated by an ENT. I underwent 5 surgeries to remove all tumors in my head and jaw. Two years ago I noticed a lump on my neck. The lump kept growing but the ENT kept reassuring me it was not cancer. My ENT performed 3 biopsies which all came back negative. I did proceed with surgery and had the lump removed. The very next day after surgery was performed to remove the lump, the doctor called me and told me that it was cancer. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Head and Neck cancer called squamous cell carcinoma. The tumors were lymph nodes in my neck that became cancerous. This needed to be treated aggressively because it was in my lymphatic system and spreads rapidly throughout the body . I had a Pet scan which showed the primary site of cancer to be my tonsil. I underwent a double tonsillectomy. The aggressive treatment plan that the doctors had me undergo was daily high doses of radiation to my neck and jaw and chemotherapy weekly. I received many doses of radiation and chemotherapy treatments over an extended period of time. Due to the many high doses of radiation, I lost my saliva glands . I also have minimum blood flow in my jaw and osteonecrosis which is dead  bone. Not being able to produce saliva, minimum blood flow and osteonecrosis due to the radiation treatments to my jaw have killed my teeth.  The pain in my mouth makes it very hard to eat.  The lack of saliva also allows infections to occur in your mouth which is very painful. I need all of my teeth surgically removed. According to the Maxiofacial surgeon only one tooth can be removed at a time so the osteonecrosis does not spread or I would lose my jaw. After all of my teeth are eventually surgically removed. A new set of teeth will have to be specially made. Due to the high expense and minimal insurance coverage, I am not able to get my surgeries as needed,  I am  still actively being treated by oncology and traveling to Baltimore for ongoing cancer follow ups and scans. I had an accident  last year, shattering both my arm and elbow. The extensive surgery included screws, pins, plates to put the arm back together. A few months ago, I suffered a fall and shattered the arm again resulting in another long surgery and more hardware to put the arm back together. The orthopedic surgeon implanted a longer and stronger metal plate, pins and screws to reconstruct my arm . When I had come in for a follow up after surgery, my arm was infected. I had to undergo yet another surgery im mediately to clean out the infection. Because of the severity of the infection, the surgeon and the infectious disease doctor admitted me to the hospital for a week where I received intravenous antibiotics. A PICC line was inserted when I was released from the hospital and I had to administer intravenous antibiotics twice a day at home for 6 weeks. I was out of work for 2 months. I have been off of the intravenous antibiotics for a couple of weeks now but now I have an infection and absess in my mouth. If I cannot get these infections under control, I am in danger of losing my jaw as well as my arm.  The arm will need extensive therapy to restore strength and mobility. I was working 2 jobs for over 15 years but I am now unable to work 2 jobs. It is physically impossible. Every cent I earn goes to medical care, co-pays, surgeries, prescriptions, and expenses that insurance does not cover on top of monthly household expenses.  I am going further into debt and in fear of the consequences. I have always been a proud person but I am now completely overwhelmed and exhausted and asking for help. I need your help and support to keep pushing through this. If you are able to help in any way, I am ever so grateful. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and God Bless.