Nick Adams Nerve Transfer Surgery
Donation protected
The Immediate Need
Nick Adams is in desperate need of a Nerve Transfer Surgery that is scheduled for June 18th (originally it was scheduled for the 11th, but has been postponed until the 18th.). He was just informed that he would need to have all the funds up front ($45,000) and since his insurance won't cover that, we prayerfully ask you to consider being the Hands and the Feet of the Church. “I was sick and you looked after me. The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for Me.'" Matthew 25:36b, 40
What Lead Up To the Need
The last weekend of October 2016, life for Nick and Kassie Adams was turned upside down. Nick became very ill. At first, his back was just sore, but over the next 2-3 days, he became dizzy, had trouble walking and double vision. They went to the closest ER since they knew something was terribly wrong. The ER decided he was dehydrated so they gave him an IV. He began to feel a little better so they went home.
However, the next evening he lost all movement in his left arm. He went back to the ER. At this point, it was suspected that Nick had viral meningitis. The improvement they were told to expect never happened. Instead, he got worse and lost all movement in both his legs. After 2 days he was transferred to UW Health in Madison because his body was slowly shutting down. Whatever unidentified illness he had, it was attacking all of his systems.
Nick's situation went from bad to worse. He ended up being intubated and on a ventilator. Doctors were doing everything in their power to keep him alive.
During this time, his wife Kassie was going back and forth to Madison (about a 4 hour drive), while trying to take care of their 3 young children (7 month old twins and 4 year old daughter) – all the while not knowing if her husband was going to live or die. The doctors told Kassie to be prepared for anything. They told her if Nick did wake up, not to have high expectations because his spinal cord had swelled and it had progressed into his brain.
Thankfully Nick did wake up. He was about 90-95% paralyzed. He only had a little movement in his right hand. He had a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. He ended up having countless procedures.
The doctors now believe that a common cold virus had attacked Nick's body, and instead of going the normal route through his body, it went through his spinal cord.
The Aftermath
It left Nick with a condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis, or AFM. It is a rare, and fairly new, condition that is described as being polio-like. It leaves the patient with little to no limb movement and rapid muscle loss. Nick went from weighing 186 lbs. to just 139 lbs. in one month. He spent over a month at the UW regaining some strength so he could get rehabilitation.
Over the next 7 months (while being away from his family) Nick received daily both physical and occupational therapy. He spent a little over a month at a rehab center in Green Bay where they worked endlessly at stretching his muscles daily to try to keep them from completely deteriorating. He had to relearn things he had always taken for granted – things like turning his head, holding up his arms against the weight of gravity. He had to stand with the aid of a standing machine just to put some weight on his legs.
After this, Nick was transferred to a nursing home with an outstanding rehab unit that was only an hour away from home and from the family and friends he missed so much. He continued to work hard every day and finally worked up to being able to sit in a wheelchair for an extended period of time. He was excited to finally be able to go outside, something he hadn't been able to do for months. Thankfully he also gained enough strength to attend his grandmother's funeral at this time.
June 30, 2017 Nick was finally able to go home after 9 long months. The right side of his body has 70-90% of mobility, the left side only about 20-30%. Sadly, only about 5-10% of strength and mobility have returned to his left shoulder.
There Is Optimistic Hope
Nick recently met with Dr. Seruya at the Los Angeles Nerve Institute, who is optimistic that he can get the movement back in Nick's shoulder with an uncommon surgery known as a Nerve Transfer Surgery. Originally the cost of the surgery was to be around $100,000, but since Nick's insurance won't cover the surgery, Nick and Kassie originally decided they wouldn't be able to go forward with it. When the doctor heard Nick was not going through with it due to the cost, he contacted Nick and said he would work at reducing the amount because he really wanted Nick to get back to doing the things he used to do. He was able to get it down to $45,000. What a huge blessing!! But still a huge amount for them to come up with.
The Nerve Transfer Surgery is a somewhat new procedure. The surgeon will take good nerves from Nick's left elbow and left pectoral muscle and transfer them to his left shoulder. The surgeon believes, that with rehabilitation, Nick should be able to use his left arm again. This doctor has performed approximately two dozen nerve transfer surgeries, with 100% success rate. It's critical that Nick has this surgery immediately because the longer he waits, the less likely it will be to overcome the paralysis.
Nick and Kassie's Story
Nick and Kassie have a classic high school sweetheart love story. They met on a school trip in 2003, Nick was 17 and Kassie was 14. They dated until Nick went off the college the next year. For the next 6 years, they kept in touch but pursued separate lives. Life was not easy and both experience many hardships (the deaths of close family members – including Nick's father at the age of 52, and the loss of Nick's childhood home to a fire).
The summer of 2010, Nick moved back to the town where he grew up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. He and Kassie spent that summer getting to know each other again and were engaged in March 2011 and married just 6 short months later! Nick got a job at the local Caterpillar plant as a tool designer and Kassie worked at a local hotel.
The fairy tale continued when their first daughter arrived on July 30th, 2012. In 2014, they found out their little family would be growing once again – sadly that pregnancy ended in miscarriage. In 2015, they rejoiced as they found they were once again expecting – this time twins! About the same time, they found out that Caterpillar was shutting down their local plant – Nick could be out of a job! Shortly after this, Nick's mom (who was so excited to meet her twin grand babies) passed away from congestive heart failure, caused by a Scleroderma, a progressive disease she had previously been diagnosed with.
On March 29th, 2016, the twins joined the family, a boy and a girl! For a few months, life was great! Then in July, it was confirmed that Nick would, in fact, lose his job at Caterpillar. He was fortunate to quickly find another job, but the drawbacks were a hefty pay decrease and an hour commute each way. This would mean that Nick would have to leave his seasonal job coaching cross country at the high school both he and Kassie had graduated from. This was a huge disappointment since Nick had been very involved in cross country, was still an avid runner and enjoyed running 5k races during the summer months.
As the months went by, they settled in to their new “normal”. They certainly had no idea what was just around the corner that last weekend of October.
As earlier mentioned, Nick's surgery is scheduled for June 18th. Would you prayerfully consider donating to help restore the strength and movement to Nick's left arm and shoulder? Every little bit helps! Please also share his story with others!
Thank you so much for considering to help!!! God bless!!
Nick Adams is in desperate need of a Nerve Transfer Surgery that is scheduled for June 18th (originally it was scheduled for the 11th, but has been postponed until the 18th.). He was just informed that he would need to have all the funds up front ($45,000) and since his insurance won't cover that, we prayerfully ask you to consider being the Hands and the Feet of the Church. “I was sick and you looked after me. The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for Me.'" Matthew 25:36b, 40
What Lead Up To the Need
The last weekend of October 2016, life for Nick and Kassie Adams was turned upside down. Nick became very ill. At first, his back was just sore, but over the next 2-3 days, he became dizzy, had trouble walking and double vision. They went to the closest ER since they knew something was terribly wrong. The ER decided he was dehydrated so they gave him an IV. He began to feel a little better so they went home.
However, the next evening he lost all movement in his left arm. He went back to the ER. At this point, it was suspected that Nick had viral meningitis. The improvement they were told to expect never happened. Instead, he got worse and lost all movement in both his legs. After 2 days he was transferred to UW Health in Madison because his body was slowly shutting down. Whatever unidentified illness he had, it was attacking all of his systems.
Nick's situation went from bad to worse. He ended up being intubated and on a ventilator. Doctors were doing everything in their power to keep him alive.
During this time, his wife Kassie was going back and forth to Madison (about a 4 hour drive), while trying to take care of their 3 young children (7 month old twins and 4 year old daughter) – all the while not knowing if her husband was going to live or die. The doctors told Kassie to be prepared for anything. They told her if Nick did wake up, not to have high expectations because his spinal cord had swelled and it had progressed into his brain.
Thankfully Nick did wake up. He was about 90-95% paralyzed. He only had a little movement in his right hand. He had a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. He ended up having countless procedures.
The doctors now believe that a common cold virus had attacked Nick's body, and instead of going the normal route through his body, it went through his spinal cord.
The Aftermath
It left Nick with a condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis, or AFM. It is a rare, and fairly new, condition that is described as being polio-like. It leaves the patient with little to no limb movement and rapid muscle loss. Nick went from weighing 186 lbs. to just 139 lbs. in one month. He spent over a month at the UW regaining some strength so he could get rehabilitation.
Over the next 7 months (while being away from his family) Nick received daily both physical and occupational therapy. He spent a little over a month at a rehab center in Green Bay where they worked endlessly at stretching his muscles daily to try to keep them from completely deteriorating. He had to relearn things he had always taken for granted – things like turning his head, holding up his arms against the weight of gravity. He had to stand with the aid of a standing machine just to put some weight on his legs.
After this, Nick was transferred to a nursing home with an outstanding rehab unit that was only an hour away from home and from the family and friends he missed so much. He continued to work hard every day and finally worked up to being able to sit in a wheelchair for an extended period of time. He was excited to finally be able to go outside, something he hadn't been able to do for months. Thankfully he also gained enough strength to attend his grandmother's funeral at this time.
June 30, 2017 Nick was finally able to go home after 9 long months. The right side of his body has 70-90% of mobility, the left side only about 20-30%. Sadly, only about 5-10% of strength and mobility have returned to his left shoulder.
There Is Optimistic Hope
Nick recently met with Dr. Seruya at the Los Angeles Nerve Institute, who is optimistic that he can get the movement back in Nick's shoulder with an uncommon surgery known as a Nerve Transfer Surgery. Originally the cost of the surgery was to be around $100,000, but since Nick's insurance won't cover the surgery, Nick and Kassie originally decided they wouldn't be able to go forward with it. When the doctor heard Nick was not going through with it due to the cost, he contacted Nick and said he would work at reducing the amount because he really wanted Nick to get back to doing the things he used to do. He was able to get it down to $45,000. What a huge blessing!! But still a huge amount for them to come up with.
The Nerve Transfer Surgery is a somewhat new procedure. The surgeon will take good nerves from Nick's left elbow and left pectoral muscle and transfer them to his left shoulder. The surgeon believes, that with rehabilitation, Nick should be able to use his left arm again. This doctor has performed approximately two dozen nerve transfer surgeries, with 100% success rate. It's critical that Nick has this surgery immediately because the longer he waits, the less likely it will be to overcome the paralysis.
Nick and Kassie's Story
Nick and Kassie have a classic high school sweetheart love story. They met on a school trip in 2003, Nick was 17 and Kassie was 14. They dated until Nick went off the college the next year. For the next 6 years, they kept in touch but pursued separate lives. Life was not easy and both experience many hardships (the deaths of close family members – including Nick's father at the age of 52, and the loss of Nick's childhood home to a fire).
The summer of 2010, Nick moved back to the town where he grew up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. He and Kassie spent that summer getting to know each other again and were engaged in March 2011 and married just 6 short months later! Nick got a job at the local Caterpillar plant as a tool designer and Kassie worked at a local hotel.
The fairy tale continued when their first daughter arrived on July 30th, 2012. In 2014, they found out their little family would be growing once again – sadly that pregnancy ended in miscarriage. In 2015, they rejoiced as they found they were once again expecting – this time twins! About the same time, they found out that Caterpillar was shutting down their local plant – Nick could be out of a job! Shortly after this, Nick's mom (who was so excited to meet her twin grand babies) passed away from congestive heart failure, caused by a Scleroderma, a progressive disease she had previously been diagnosed with.
On March 29th, 2016, the twins joined the family, a boy and a girl! For a few months, life was great! Then in July, it was confirmed that Nick would, in fact, lose his job at Caterpillar. He was fortunate to quickly find another job, but the drawbacks were a hefty pay decrease and an hour commute each way. This would mean that Nick would have to leave his seasonal job coaching cross country at the high school both he and Kassie had graduated from. This was a huge disappointment since Nick had been very involved in cross country, was still an avid runner and enjoyed running 5k races during the summer months.
As the months went by, they settled in to their new “normal”. They certainly had no idea what was just around the corner that last weekend of October.
As earlier mentioned, Nick's surgery is scheduled for June 18th. Would you prayerfully consider donating to help restore the strength and movement to Nick's left arm and shoulder? Every little bit helps! Please also share his story with others!
Thank you so much for considering to help!!! God bless!!
Organizer and beneficiary
Denice Minner Gustafson
Organizer
Prentice, WI
Nick Adams
Beneficiary