mayo clinic trip

Update on mom:

Her surgeon is unable to find anyone that is able to do her revision surgery and is referring her to the mayo clinic. As I said before, she is on disability and money is very tight. We are going to be taking donations for her trip from anyone that can help, please let me know if you would like to help!

Mom had gastroparesis caused by a nerve being damaged during one of her previous procedures. The gastroparesis is what has caused all of her current issues. She had a weight loss surgery that was meant to be modified to bypass her stomach but the surgeon that performed it did not do a modified version of the procedure, and instead performed an actual weight loss surgery on my 130 lb mother. This caused her to lose over 60 lbs that she didn't have to lose to begin with, and she now has a massive ulcer that is preventing her from digesting and absorbing nutrients. That same surgeon then refused to see her or take any of her calls and legitimately left her to die.

When Dr. Ferrari (her current surgeon..amazing, did not do botched surgery!) Placed the feeding tube while she was hospitalized this last time he told me the scar tissue was so extensive he couldn't visualize what he needed to see and that her case is too complex for a small hospital when it comes time for the revision surgery she desperately needs. Because of the massive ulcer she has only been able to tolerate 10 ML of tube feeding per hour and even that causes her severe pain. She is currently on the small, continuous feedings as well as TPN. She has a PICC line in her arm for her TPN and she's getting home health visits to manage it. She has put on a few pounds since starting the TPN, thank God.

I had to take her to oncology last week because her labs have shown very low red and white cell counts since 2019. This is part of why she needed to be transfused after the tube was placed. Her hemoglobin is hardly staying above 8 or 9 even after the transfusion. I was devastated and convinced we were going to be told she had mds or leukemia but the oncologist is certain her white count is due to autoimmune and thinks the anemia is due to her gastric issues. He wants to resolve her gastric issues and determine if it is the cause and monitor her in the mean time, he says she will likely need iron infusions but he is watching her labs. He was the first specialist to suggest the mayo clinic due to the complexity of her case.

We are currently waiting for them to call with an admission date and trying to set up funding her trip. I want to say thank you again to everyone for their concern and prayers. Not a day goes by that someone isn't checking on her or trying to help. Please keep praying, she has a long journey ahead of her and an even longer one already behind her. She has been through hell and we just want her to have some relief and enjoyment out of the rest of her life.