Dylan vs. Cancer- Cancer Strikes Back
Donation protected
Dylan Whitney, my husband, is a dedicated, loving, actively engaged father to our four boys and an amazing partner to me. He is extremely patient with our autistic and special needs sons. He is loyal, kind and always willing to help others. In August of 2017 he underwent surgery that took part of his colon in order to remove a tumor. He then fought and worked through 12 rounds of chemotherapy.
On November 21,2018, the day before this Thanksgiving at an Oncology follow up we found out some devastating news. The cancer had spread to his lungs. He was now Stage Four. But there is hope. The cancer can be removed and it will take at least half of his left lung (if we are lucky…it could take the whole lung. We won’t know until surgery.) Once the new cancerous area is removed we do not know what the treatment will be. This will depend on pathology of the tumor and if the PET scan shows more spread of cancer. He may need different and MORE chemotherapy and/or radiation. Again, we will not know this until about a week after surgery. This isn’t over.
On December 20th Dylan will have half or more of his lung removed. This will be done with minimally invasive surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (they work with Dana Farber).
Today Dylan found out a few things that necessitated the GoFundMe.
Basically, to get a room by himself that he NEEDS for better recovery and less infection risk at Brigham and Woman's, you have to pay that bill at discharge. Up front. If you want a room where a person can stay with you and have visitors its a bit more. This room would also allow the kids to visit on Christmas IF he is still there. We had the $400 deposit but nothing else left.
Last time, when he was at UMASS Memorial, they looked the other way and I slept in a chair for three days. He only needed the pain button ONE time. At home, just ONE pill. We worked through it together. He got the care and managed the pain. The one time I left to take a shower I came back to him having lung trouble and needing that pain support. To add to that, any hospital stay gives us both severe flashbacks and anxiety relating to our son Gabriel's birth and death.
Also post surgery he COULD be exposed to the germs/pneumonia or other risks of a roommate and if said roommate is granted smoking privileges the smell of smoke on their clothes. A roommate can also limit his access to me if they choose. I will not be allowed to stay and visitors limited. If he is there for Christmas he misses the boys.His lung is getting cut out and he is fragile. If we can get him the room he should have, his recovery time goes down, pain management improves and infection risk decreases. I also am not faced with driving home from Boston at 9pm exhausted and unsafe to drive.
To top it off any care after January 1st, (think follow ups and who knows what else) will be part of a $500 deductible. He was SUPPOSED to be in the clear for the month of January giving us time to save this up. Not now. This new diagnosis and Stage 4 upset our careful planning.
Christmas is all set for the boys. We just need help with the expense of making appointments, this surgery, maybe some meals on the go for the boys when we are too exhausted emotionally to cook and costs of things he will need for care when he gets home.
We have avoided this as long as possible and do so at the urging of our friends who are really chosen family.
We need the funds by December 20. Sooner would be better so we can go into this major surgery with optimism and some part of our minds clear.
On November 21,2018, the day before this Thanksgiving at an Oncology follow up we found out some devastating news. The cancer had spread to his lungs. He was now Stage Four. But there is hope. The cancer can be removed and it will take at least half of his left lung (if we are lucky…it could take the whole lung. We won’t know until surgery.) Once the new cancerous area is removed we do not know what the treatment will be. This will depend on pathology of the tumor and if the PET scan shows more spread of cancer. He may need different and MORE chemotherapy and/or radiation. Again, we will not know this until about a week after surgery. This isn’t over.
On December 20th Dylan will have half or more of his lung removed. This will be done with minimally invasive surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (they work with Dana Farber).
Today Dylan found out a few things that necessitated the GoFundMe.
Basically, to get a room by himself that he NEEDS for better recovery and less infection risk at Brigham and Woman's, you have to pay that bill at discharge. Up front. If you want a room where a person can stay with you and have visitors its a bit more. This room would also allow the kids to visit on Christmas IF he is still there. We had the $400 deposit but nothing else left.
Last time, when he was at UMASS Memorial, they looked the other way and I slept in a chair for three days. He only needed the pain button ONE time. At home, just ONE pill. We worked through it together. He got the care and managed the pain. The one time I left to take a shower I came back to him having lung trouble and needing that pain support. To add to that, any hospital stay gives us both severe flashbacks and anxiety relating to our son Gabriel's birth and death.
Also post surgery he COULD be exposed to the germs/pneumonia or other risks of a roommate and if said roommate is granted smoking privileges the smell of smoke on their clothes. A roommate can also limit his access to me if they choose. I will not be allowed to stay and visitors limited. If he is there for Christmas he misses the boys.His lung is getting cut out and he is fragile. If we can get him the room he should have, his recovery time goes down, pain management improves and infection risk decreases. I also am not faced with driving home from Boston at 9pm exhausted and unsafe to drive.
To top it off any care after January 1st, (think follow ups and who knows what else) will be part of a $500 deductible. He was SUPPOSED to be in the clear for the month of January giving us time to save this up. Not now. This new diagnosis and Stage 4 upset our careful planning.
Christmas is all set for the boys. We just need help with the expense of making appointments, this surgery, maybe some meals on the go for the boys when we are too exhausted emotionally to cook and costs of things he will need for care when he gets home.
We have avoided this as long as possible and do so at the urging of our friends who are really chosen family.
We need the funds by December 20. Sooner would be better so we can go into this major surgery with optimism and some part of our minds clear.
Organizer and beneficiary
Brandy Leah Whitney
Organizer
Webster, MA
Dylan Whitney
Beneficiary