Bugsy's Fight

March of 2014 was the biggest nightmare for our family. Our dad was misdiagnosed for four months with a sinus infection. He ended up getting sent to Froedert which is where they found a baseball size tumor inside of his head. It was blocking his nasal passages 100%, he couldn’t see well out of his left eye, and it was starting to move up toward the brain. In May, they did a 10 hour surgery, and gave him a 2% chance of keeping his left eye. It was the LONGEST ten hours of our life.. but the surgeon came out and said that the surgery was successful, and they saved his eye. We were hysterical and SO thankful. We can’t say thank you enough to Dr. Mustafa Baskaya. My dad managed to stay cancer free for a few weeks, but as a lot of people know.. surgery allows the cancer to hit oxygen, and when it hits oxygen.. it spreads. We went in for another MRI and PET scan.. and they found the cancer had attached all over his organs. He was diagnosed with Paranasal Melanoma.. which at the time, only one other person in the state had besides him. It’s not curable, but has been manageable. He has been a SOLDIER this entire fight, and he’s got four STRONG women behind him, as well as a great team of friends. His doctors put him on two different immunotherapy’s and after 3 years of immunotherapy, he got to go about a year without it.  His doctors were checking him every few weeks, and in April of 2019, we got the word that the C word was back. They found three spots on his brain, which are effecting his balance, memory & sight. His doctor then had to put him on steroids, which ended up giving him steroid diabetes. We’ve had SO many ups and downs, SO many ambulance visits, SO many hospital stays.. but he’s finally able to be home in his own bed. My mom has been a saint through all of this, we all try to keep each other strong. We appreciate EVERY prayer and kind thought we get, even through the negativity we try to ignore. They tried a third immunotherapy this time which didn’t work, but he’s about to start chemotherapy and we’re praying this will be the one! We were going to host a benefit at his bar Huba Huba, but since he’s bed ridden, and so many people have been asking how they can help.. my sisters and I thought this was the best way. My dad has always put everyone first, he’s the most incredible person in my life.. and not to mention, my hero. They still have Riley at home which keeps my dad  fighting even harder. During the first five years, he was always able to drive and work.. and now he can’t do either. Any money that we can raise for my dad will be going to their gas for the weekly, sometimes daily madison trips, meals, medications, dietary supplements, his in home care and more than anything we want to get him a new bed. Other ways people can help are finding us sugar free desserts & his new favorite.. quest bars! We also want to make sure we thank the Oconomowoc EMT’s. Thank you for helping my mom out,  and keeping my dad safe. They are all incredible human beings.❤️