Matt is having a huge surgery on August 31st. They are doing a distal pancreatectomy (remove tail of pancreas) splenectomy  (remove spleen) & possibly a cholecystectomy (remove gallbladder). He will be in the hospital about a week if all goes perfect but he is at high risk for complications so possibly longer. It’s not going to fix all of his issues but he has a 50/50 chance of it improving atleast some of the pain & hopefully stop the leaking of the disconnected pancreatic duct which has been causing more damage. This is a very risky surgery & with all of Matt’s other health issues it makes it more complicated. His immune system is already compromised & alot of the complications can happen days or even weeks after surgery. They still can not remove the original hemangioma because that surgeon said it is to risky to even attempt that surgery but the pancreas is causing more damage so they need to try to stop that. The splenic vein has an obstruction so they are removing the entire spleen. His bile duct is narrowing so removing the gallbladder is another defense move. It can also cause pancreatitis so removing it can help prevent with future flair ups but it will depend on what they find when they open him up & if they can safely remove it with all of his other complications. Please send us lots of prayers. Add us to any/every prayer chain you know about & share with anyone who will listen! Social security is still pending & status is at 50%. I need to take more unpaid time off work for his surgery & to help him during recovery since it is such a huge complicated risky surgery so anything helps! 

I am sorry I haven’t given an update for awhile. It’s been 6  months of hell however I am so thankful he is still here after 6 months! I’m running like a crazy chicken & chasing my own tail so it’s not easy to slow down enough to write anything. I am trying y’all but I’m a mess.

Matt is still not able to work. Still no decision on social security & they have only reviewed 11% of his medical reports so they are saying months before they get finished. 

The hemangioma is still on his liver but last check has not grown anymore. He does have some issues from it & lots of pressure that even effects his breathing. The liver surgeon says he will not do the surgery to remove the mass unless he is backed into a corner because it is very dangerous especially with his portal vein thrombosis. He said at this point the risks out way the benefits. However his pancreas is still a huge issue. He is always in pain. Some days he can’t eat. Some days he can’t stay awake. He is exhausted mentally & physically. He has some good days but unfortunately the bad days are more frequent then the good & they seem to stick around longer. He is to the point he wants his entire pancreas removed regardless of the risks. He says he can’t live the rest of his life like this. We have an appointment on Friday to see a new pancreatic surgeon to see if a pancreatectomy is even possible with his portal vein thrombosis. We will see if the new specialist agrees or if he has any other ideas on how to help. Removing the pancreas has lots of immediate risks & long term issues but he is suffering so I will support whatever decision he makes even if I am terrified of anyone touching him. 

Please keep praying for us all especially Matt! 

I have been maxing out every credit card either of us could get to pay our household & medical bills for the last 6 months since my paycheck is not enough to cover things. Now that we are so far in debt they won’t give us more cards so things are getting real scary. Anything help & is very appreciated 

It has been awhile since I updated but we still don’t have answers. It has been 5 months of pure hell.

They have decided it’s more of a risk to try to remove the mass then it is to leave it in there unless it starts growing again or he has more complications from it because the surgery even on a completely healthy person is very dangerous so with all his complications & additional health issues it makes it very dangerous. He has portal vein thrombosis (blood clot between liver & pancreas. Most of his pancreas was destroyed & the small portion remaining is now has chronic pancreatitis which means it’s staying inflamed & not calming down. We also found out he has factor 5 blood disorder which complicates things alittle more. His tumor marker bloodwork has been elevated so now they want to do a PET scan to double check his liver & pancreas for any new growths that could be cancerous. He has several spots on his pancreas but we are praying it is more scar tissue & not anything bad but doing a biopsy around his pancreas can the remaining piece of his pancreas to necrotize. They done a scope a couple weeks ago & took some samples to biopsy but the sample from the only spot they could reach safely around his pancreas came back as slightly contaminated so the test was inconclusive. They are also doing an MRI to scan his brain since he has more memory loss, vertigo & hand tremors. They are testing to see if he had a stroke while he was in the hospital when he got pancreatitis, His blood pressure was very high & he has had symptoms since he was in ICU. His weight is holding right now but he has lost over 60lbs since this all started. Alot of it was muscle & its very hard for him to build it back when he is in so much pain all the time. He is also very fatigued. He is also running fevers off & on & the cause still has not been determined.  He has some good days but they are short lived & usually followed by a few days of him sleeping. He is mentally, physically & emotionally exhausted. Every time we get a few answers we get even more questions. It’s definitely 1 step forward & 2 steps back but we are doing our best to hold it all together. He is in a lot of pain, he is miserable, he isn’t able to work, the doctor bills are horrible & the household bills keep coming but we are lucky he is alive so its all worth is as long as we have him. We have been living off my income with the help of donations because my income alone isn't enough to pay the normal household bills even before we have to pay for additional medical expenses. We hope the social security gets approved soon but until then we could really use some financial help. 

It’s been almost 5 months. Matt is still having a hard time. There isn’t much to update other then he is still fighting while we try to figure out what to do next. They are still not sure if they can even remove the hemangioma at this point. It might be a bigger risk then leaving it in there. They are looking at other things & doing some scopes today. He still can’t work. We already filed our 1st appeal for social security so now we wait for them to decide & probably have to appeal it again since they still don’t have all the final answers yet. Money is tight & we know it’s hard for everyone right now so we greatly appreciate every dime. We also appreciate all the prayers. That is the reason he is still alive today! Thank y’all so much for helping us! 

Follow Matt’s group for more updates 

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Finally a good update after a procedure. 

Alot of the fluid from the pseudocysts have drained so the nasty dead necrotized parts of the pancreas have started dropping down around the stent. His stent was clogged up so they cleaned it out. They also removed some extra debris (small pieces of dead pancreas). They also put in another stent from the bottom of the pancreas area to his intestine to help drain more. That stent will eventually come out of where they placed it & pass thru his intestines. He probably wont even notice when he passes it. His pancreatic duct does have a leak in it so we are hoping it will be able to heal itself with more time but he can't say if it will or not. They are going to do the same procedure next Monday to remove more debris & help keep the stent open longer. Then they will be doing a follow up the following week & probably a scan to decide what the next steps will be but we atleast have some steps planned. 

The doctor already figured the duct was leaking however he was happy overall what all he eas able to do today. Matt is not in alot of pain from the procedure but his liver is hurting like always. He is feeling drained right now but his body went thru alot today so that's to be expected. He is on strict orders to relax & rest for the next 24 hours but atleast he gets to do that at HOME!

More updates can be found on Facebook 

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