Help Joey Rotella fight cancer!

My name is Kelly Misner and I’m here to share with you the long journey that my best friend, Angela Rotella, has had to take this last month to keep her brother, Joey Rotella, alive.  Joey has been so courageous throughout multiple surgeries and complications. Here is Joey’s brave medical journey below.

Back story:
In April, Joey had not been able to keep food down for about a week and was getting dehydrated. His father is battling pancreatic cancer and was in ICU at the same time with a serious infection from chemotherapy.  His doctor thought it was stomach issues from stress.  Joey began to feel better with some diet changes and more fluids.

July 4th weekend came and Joey was unable to keep any food down again. When the symptoms worsened his primary doctor scheduled an emergency cat-scan to rule out appendicitis and any gallbladder issues. The next day Joey was so dehydrated that Angela had to bring him to the emergency room for fluids. They looked at the cat-scan again and it showed a tumor blocking his small intestine.

He spent a few nights in the ER at CVPH with a NG tube put in to drain his stomach because of the blockage. It was determined that our hospital was not equipped to perform the surgery to get the complicated tumor out and CVPH recommended that he go to a bigger hospital.  

In the meantime, Angela was doing her research and knew the best place for Joey would be in Boston, Massachusetts.  Being an amazing advocate for her brother, Angela went to work making endless phone calls.  The next day on July 9th, Joey was transferred by ambulance for the five hour trip to Boston and Angela left that evening. A bit nostalgic was July 9th is the anniversary of their mother’s death in 2012 from a rare cancer. The family’s cancers are not genetic nor connected, but the past and current challenges have taught Joey how to stay strong and not be afraid to travel to receive the best health care.  So off he bravely went to fight for his life with his sister by his side.

Angela checked into a hotel right across from the Boston Hospital so she could be with her brother everyday he was there.  She never dreamed she would be living in a hotel for a month.  So far, this has been an expense that has reached over $7,000.  Some of the hotel cost may be covered by Joey's insurance, but at this time it is unsure the portion they will cover and they may not go back to the beginning of the stay per insurance guidelines. In addition to the hotel, the food costs, gas and expenses of living in a bigger city have started to add up very quickly.   

Surgery:
Joey had a complicated surgery to have the tumor and several area lymph glands removed. Part of his small intestine was removed and sewn back together again. Surgery went well, but not long after waking up he began having trouble breathing. This became scary and very serious quickly. They had to intubate Joey for many days.  They learned his vocal cords were paralyzed, his throat was severely inflamed from the tube and it had closed his airway completely. 

The ventilator saved Joey's life and the strong steroids brought the inflammation down.  He experienced bad delirium for days while on steroids.  They removed the breathing tube after three days and he finally breathed on his own!  Two days passed and joey’s voice got stronger.   Things were looking positive.

The next day Joey walked for the first time after a week of surgery.   Only hours later he had fluids oozing from his stomach incision. Angela received a call a the hotel after visiting hours were over that Joey needed a second emergency surgery. The incision had broken open on the inside and that meant another breathing tube and more anesthesia for Joey.   Joey's father and step-mother jumped in the car that evening and arrived very early that morning to be with him for a few days after the second surgery.  This was very difficult as his father is very sick from his chemo treatments, but they accomplished the complicated task to be there for Joey and Angela for a few days before having to return home for his own medical appointments.  This added to the family's hotel bills and overall travel costs.

Joey was kept on ventilator this time for four days after surgery so inflammation would cause the same breathing problem because steriods couldn't be used again.  Angela was faced with waiting and seeing if the doctors would have to perform a tracheotomy to give Joey a stable airway.  Joey received another chance to be in extubated and miraculously, Joey breathed his own once again and could talk! They watched him in ICU for another few days and then moved him to a surgical recovery floor. Joey was in ICU for a total of 12 days, after the initial 4 days on the surgical floor.

After moving to the surgical floor Joey began with a feeding tube and the stomach drain began working.  Still not out of the woods for tracheotomy he finally was allowed to eat jello a week later.  A swallow test showed cautiously good results.  Angela continued to go everyday to be with her brother and continued to advocate for his best recovery. Both exhausted they still made a great team as usual. 

Rehab:
Finding a great rehab facility for him in Boston was now the next task.  Angela was on the phone and doing her research once again.  Joey has just been moved there after a month of being in the hospital.  It is unsure how many weeks it will take Joey to recover before being able to come home.  This extended stay is costly, but necessary for his overall treatment plan.   Meanwhile, the entire family was waiting for the results of the biopsy of the tumor.  It was determined to be generic intestinal cancer and to reduce risk of spreading Joey will need six months of chemo.  Also, several trips to Boston to follow up with his three doctors there will be needed over the course of the next year to year and half.  This will also add to the family's expenses.   

In need of help:
Joey has not been able to work for a month now and he doesn’t have benefits or paid sick time from his job.  So on top of the expenditures, he also has no income coming in.  He will also not be able to work for a least 6 months or more while in rehab and receiving a severe three chemo regimen during that time.  It is unknown how long it will take Joey's body to recover from side effects.  He will be in need of some in home care to help him through the chemo treatments as well in the next six months.  Some of this in home medical care will be covered by insurance, but not all of it.  The local doctors and nurses will continue to communicate with his amazing team of doctors in Boston during this time.

Joey and Angela are having trouble asking for financial help, so this is why I decided to start the GoFundMe.  They are amazing people and help others so much.  I hate seeing Joey be so sick and Angela having to work so tirelessly to keep everything running smoothly for them.  If we can work together to try and raise $25,000 to cover Angela's hotel bill (which proved to be necessary as she had to run to the hospital several times for his emergencies and advocate for her brother), travel, food, copays/deductibles, future follow up appointments for Joey, home help, and offset some of Joey's lack of income in the coming year this would be amazing.  It won't change what Joey has been through, but it will certainly relieve some stress for Joey and Angela and make one area of their life a little easier as they deal with Joey's chemo and their father's continued cancer battle.  

Joey and Angela are so grateful to their family and friends who have supported them in many different ways during this difficult time.  The love and care has been amazing and they appreciate everything that everyone has done so far to help them.  They talk about it to me often.

Thank you so much for helping me provide necessary relief for two of my greatest friends!  

Kelly Misner