Rumsey’s Road to Recovery Fund

The love of my three year old daughter to her father. On June 10th, 2019, my husband Bill had surgery to remove his right kidney because it had a malignant mass. The surgery was supposed to take two hours with a few days in the hospital. His recovery time was supposed to be six weeks. As we all know, what is supposed to happen does not always mirror what happens. After two hours, the surgeon came out to tell me it was taking longer than anticipated because the colon was making it difficult to get to the kidney. Also, there was a possibility he would need to switch from a less invasive approach to having to open Bill up. He put a call in to have a colleague assist him. After four hours, the surgeon came out to tell me he was able to get the kidney out without opening Bill up. He also told me the pathology report would be back in four days. After Bill was admitted to the floor, I was finally able to see him. He spent four days in the hospital. During this time, we learned the pathology report showed, upon opening the renal vein, there was the presence of cancer cells. This meant many follow ups for scans to see if the cancer was going to show up anywhere else. Not the news we we were hoping for, but our new reality. I brought Bill home on June 14th. Our three year old daughter was so excited because she had not seen him all week. Later in the day, Bill seemed confused and having a hard time getting words out, but I attributed it to the surgery and everything his body had gone through.

The next day, June 15th, Bill’s confusion became worse and I sensed something was wrong. Immediately, I looked at his discharge paperwork to see what types of things I should call the doctor for. Confusion was not on the list, but I called the doctor anyways because I was becoming scared with what was happening. He told me Bill needed to go to the E.R. right away. He had only been home for less than twenty-four hours and Bill was already headed back to the hospital. Many tests were done and it was determined he had sepsis, a blood infection. Bill was admitted to the hospital and given IV antibiotics, among many other things. Each day he was getting worse and becoming really delirious. The trauma surgeon decided he needed to open Bill up, thinking something was going on with his colon. He went in for another surgery on June 20th. After the surgery was done, the surgeon told me Bill was a very sick man. When he opened him up, the right part of the colon was dead so he had to remove that part and his bowel had dumped into the body. Bill should have presented as being deathly ill before the surgery so the surgeon was shocked when he opened him up. Bill was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and it was unknown what the prognosis would be. It was minute by minute and only time would tell what would happen. Theses days were some of the most anxious times of my life. Would my phone ring because there was a change? He was there for six days and then transferred to the floor.

One day after being on the floor, it was determined he had a hole in his bowel. It could not be operated on because it was too risky. The only way it would heal is by not eating or drinking anything. We are now on day 28 of being in the hospital waiting for the hole to close. When that happens, Bill will be moved to inpatient rehab at the hospital. Right now it looks like he will be at the hospital for another month or more with many months of occupational and physical therapy to follow.

This has been a nightmare for our family! I visit Bill several hours in the morning and evening in the hospital, while my daughter is being watched by a babysitter. We sorely miss our husband/dad. I am a stay at home mom and all of the uncovered medical expenses are piling. Also, we are losing the money my husband was earning as a Registered Nurse because of not being able to work now and for at least the rest of this year. It could be longer. Therefore, we are feeling a horrible financial strain, while trying to beat Bill’s illness. It would help us immensely if we could raise money to ease this strain. Bill has always helped others and now he needs help. If you could help us, we would appreciate it more than I could ever put into words. Also, we would appreciate continued prayers as we journey ahead. God is good and I know he will provide!✨