Andrew Heilman's Long Battle With Cancer

Story

Andrew Heilman is on his third battle with cancer. This latest round has been considerably worse than the previous two.

Round 1

Diagnosis- September 11, 2020

Surgery- October 13, 2020

During this surgery, they removed 6 of his bottom teeth, gum tissue which was rebuilt using a skin graft from his leg, and 53 lymph nodes in his neck. The week after Thanksgiving, he underwent 33 doses of radiation (5 days a week), and 3 doses of chemotherapy (1 infusion every 3 weeks). Following radiation, a person has to wait several weeks before a CT scan will be accurate. In April 2020, the CT looked clear with a small spot that they believed was residual from the radiation. They did a biopsy to make sure, which led us to ....

Round 2

Diagnosis- April 12, 2021

Surgery- May 4, 2021

During this surgery, they removed 6 more bottom teeth, all gum tissue on his left side, and used a large piece of tissue from his shoulder to rebuild his gums. They left this tissue "flap" connected and fed in through his neck because a tissue transfer was impossible. After all, the radiation had fried his blood vessels.

Surgery- May 10, 2021

The pocket formed at the surgical site in his neck and became infected. They brought him back to the OR, opened him up, and flushed/cleaned everything out. a few days after that the incision on his shoulder became infected. They flushed this bedside but left it open to heal from the inside out. This left us doing extensive wound care through August.

May 2022- Multiple infections in his jaw area combined with radiation necrosis (side effect of radiation where bone/tissue dies) led to his jaw breaking, as well as the need for IV antibiotics. They inserted a PICC line and we did IV infusions every 6 hrs for 8 weeks at home. A custom made titanium plate was made and combined with cadaver bone, used to reinforce his jaw.

Round 3

June 2024- Andrew went in for a routine CT scan as he had been doing every six months. He was officially declared 3 yrs NED (No Evidence of Disease). Our celebration was cut short in August when new sores developed in his gum tissue on the other side of his mouth. After multiple biopsies, our worst fear was confirmed. It was back.

Diagnosis- September 25, 2024

Surgery- October 21, 2024

The surgeons decided to get super aggressive and take every piece of tissue and bone that was left and do a total reconstruction of his lower jaw/gums. They removed everything from jaw joint to jaw joint. A custom titanium plate was made, a section of fibula (bone) and tissue was taken from his lower leg. They used the bone to attach to the metal plate for a new jaw. The tissue was used to rebuild gum tissue. This was the biggest surgery yet and recovery has been the most difficult.

Surgery- October 27, 2024

He developed a large "mucous plug" at the bottom of his trachea (right above where it splits into two separate lungs). This plug caused a complete blockage to his airway. They called a Rapid Response Team which turned into a "Code Blue". They could not clear the blockage and emergency surgery was needed. It took several hours of work to soften and remove bit by bit this plug while struggling to secure his airway. They called and got my consent to put him on ECMO if it became necessary. This is where a machine pumps all of your blood from your body, fully oxygenates it and pumps it back through. This gives you the oxygen you need while completely bypassing the lungs. Thank God it wasn't needed! They concluded that while they had been encouraging him to cough to clear surgical drainage, he had been having a huge asthma flare-up. Every time he coughed it irritated his trachea, which caused him to cough more, but not enough to be productive, so all that drainage gathered and essentially cemented itself there. He spent the next 2 days highly sedated and having a ventilator do all his breathing to allow his "fragile" lungs to rest. They started weaning him from sedation and he eventually made it out of the ICU and back to the surgical step down unit on November 1.

Home

November 6, 2024- He was finally discharged after 16 days in the hospital, half of them in ICU. Lots of swelling, liquid diet, mild wound care of the tracheostomy site, a boot on his foot where they took the bone for 6 weeks.

What's next?

Even after all that, the pathology results do not look promising. After every surgery that removes cancer, the case is reviewed by the "Tumor Board" which then makes recommendations for further treatment if needed. They like to see 5mm of clear margins, but the surgeons were only able to get 3mm. This combined with how many times the cancer has returned and how aggressive it is, they recommend radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. We immediately requested referrals to both the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic and are in the process of making appts for a second and third opinion on how to move forward and what makes the most sense. If we decided to get treatment at the Mayo, the two hr drive would make things difficult in which case we may be looking at temporary housing options much closer.

Money received from the gofundme fundraiser will be used to cover medical bills, medications, home expenses (mortgage, utilities, etc.), household needs, and other expenses incurred while exploring treatment options.

Please help by covering Drew and his family with an abundance of prayers as they continue to lean into their faith in a God that never leaves and never stops loving!