Donations for Brett & Melissa (Steen) Doggett

I look at the girl in the top photo, it is hard to believe it is me, my eyes are sad-who's wouldn't be...I am weak and the beautiful life we were creating right below that picture is gone.

What began in late August of 2022 and a minor medical procedure that should have taken 45 minutes, Melissa awoke in the ICU six hours later with a 2-inch laceration to her esophagus and a sincere shock to her husband and her family, There would be multiple stent removals and reinstalls that with each extraction would leave the esophagus very damaged as an attempt to repair the hole. It was as this time, it was roughly January, and at this point, she was on now a full liquid diet. Running out of options she sought a referral to a thoracic surgeon who is known for helping patients like this taking what was previously the stomach and crafting a new esophagus, called a full esophagectomy, that with time and prayer the new throat would one day allow her to eat solid foods again. There is no time limit on knowing if the surgery would be successful, but quickly we could see that her Quality of Life (this. is a word we use often now) and ability to thrive was rapidly declining, Essentially, Melissa was extremely malnourished and quickly showed a failure to thrive. The reality was she was starving to death and we were out of options. She had dropped almost 100 pounds in a very short period and became very weak, losing functions like bowel and bladder and any ability to take fluids or nutrients by mouth, MOST IMPORTANTLY, we began to see her lose HOPE. If you know Melissa, that had to be the hardest part of the loss and journey completely. After a brief period of being home accepting what the last hospital said and being hard to hear "We are out of options"...Brett loving her as he does, loaded her in the car and made the drive down to Scott & White hospital. He arrived and pleaded... "I need help, I can not lose my wife" Initially she spent several weeks in palliative services, which focus more on comfort and preparation for end life care, but miraculously a thoracic surgeon was willing to give her exactly what she needed. He could not fix her throat, but what he could give her was a permanent feeding tube so that she could nourish her body with the nutrients she needed to sustain life. After several weeks in the hospital, she returned to the farm and transitioned to home care services compromised of nurses, families, volunteers and angels all making up what we call "The Care Team" with Brett & Melissa as team cocaptains still ensuring the goal was to get better.

Melissa did something she rarely ever does during this journey and she had to verbally and physically QUIT. Quit the job she has loved her whole life and as this was for a new 4-year executive employment project, she was with very few options on services like FMLA job protection, STD/LTD and affordable continuation of group health insurance. The impact of her employer not expediting COBRA timely left Melissa and Brett as cash patients and absorbing all costs associated with travel to and from Temple, copays, coinsurance and extreme out-of-pocket expenses. In a matter of weeks, their HSA account went from having over 50K to 18 cents. No one can ever be prepared for this. No one. Things are taking place through case management to move Melissa to Brett's wonderful company insurance as a spouse. This will take place on August 1st. However, this too will come with high deductibles to meet and the cycle begins again.

Melissa is doing well, relatively. She is holding firm with a goal weight of 110 to then hopefully graduate to 120. She stays calorie depleted even with the feeding tube, so as she can imagine she stays very weak. Her mind is however very clear and she is drawing closer and closer to a faith that always meant a great deal to her. What we would like to do as family and friends is assist in the financial hardship that this is placing on the family. Melissa was the primary income for the family and due to a terrible error with her employer, she was essentially a cash patient until they could get COBRA managed...and even then insurance only covers so much, while applications are in place for disability and other sources of income, these take time. They are also under an NDA for the litigation that will be ongoing for years to come. Many of her friends, clients, old employers, and even strangers are asking to give and we want to give them an avenue to do so. There is future litigation in the works, but right now is the time frame we are wanting to help bridge the gap. Please do not feel obligated to give or think Melissa is asking for this. If you truly know her, accepting the help of any kind is not her strong suit. The friends and family that she surrounds herself with are ensuring her mind is clear, her spiritual journey is always near, and it goes without saying, she reads every card and she cherishes the gifts of personal intentions that are practical and so meaningful for her on this journey. Melissa is a giver at her core, it is something she has always been. Plants, nursing medical supplies, small clothes, books, handwritten notes...all of this has given her so much strength. Many clients of hers, old friends from childhood, and even perfect strangers, previous employers and her many friends through her life have asked us to set this up. Old Melissa wouldn't approve, but realistically the hardship is too hard for even the most well-off families to absorb. Please do not feel obligated to give, we know any amount will make a difference and can begin to take away some of the hardship and then we can show her the burden doesn't lie with her and Brett...the village will get her through this. She is never ALONE. Her spirits are high, she has good and bad days, but she always has Brett and her dog Epperson who hasn't left her side,

Missy always says, "Beginnings are usually scary...endings are typically sad...it's hope that lies in the middle and we just have to give hope a chance to float up."