Helping Darren Loveday and His Family

*October 2024 Update:

Yesterday we were dealt the worst blow ever!

Darren had gone for a CT scan on Friday, and they discovered a small lesion on his brain, with fluid. They wanted to follow up with an MRI.

Yesterday, he had the MRI in the morning. The doctor asked to meet with me regarding the results. It was not good.

Darren has a 1.5 cm tumor on his brain. They suspect that it could be cancerous. I had to make the decision yesterday, as to what road of treatment to take.

I was told that trying to remove or even investigate the tumor is very invasive. It would need to be done via neurosurgery, which involves full sedation that may not be tolerated. Treatments for cancer would have a very negative effect on his already low quality of life, and the end result would not change. It would only prolong the inevitable.

We have switched gears to palliative care, just keeping him as comfortable as possible. Right now he is not in any pain, which is good. Many medications have been removed, and he is relatively calm most of the time.

While we don't have an exact timeline for progression, we are told that he likely has weeks left.

At this time we have to switch gears to end of life planning, as well as assuring that there are funds for our family as we go forward without his income.

All previous donations were so very helpful in keeping us afloat while I sold his truck. This generosity was so much appreciated.

If it is possible to donate, or share as much as you can, we would appreciate that as well.

Much love to all of you. ❤️

It's Darren Loveday's wife Mandie. I have started this Go Fund Me to help with expenses while Darren is trying to recover, and can't work.

On October 25, 2023, Darren had to be brought in to the hospital by ambulance. When he had woken up that day, he was very dizzy and couldn't stand. I quickly checked his blood pressure and found it to be on the lower end of normal. As he is a STEMI patient, with concern for his heart, I called 911.

It was discovered that he had several severe bleeding ulcers in his duodenum. They were repaired with clips, mesh and cauterization. He was given multiple blood transfusions as his hemoglobin was extremely low. It was at that time that we found out that one of the two blood thinners that Darren had been prescribed, should have been discontinued more than 6 months earlier. His cardiologist had seen him at the three month appointment, and dismissed him to continue on all of the same meds, and said see you in a year.

Darren seemed to have bounced back from his bleed, and was discharged from the hospital in the morning of October 31, 2023. The last time that I saw Darren as I remember him was that night at 8pm, when he came downstairs with a bowl of rice krispies. He said that his chest was hurting a bit, but wasn't concerned, and he was going to lay down.

I woke up at 4:30am to him breathing in a way that sounded like a locomotive engine. I tried to wake him up but couldn't. His breathing quieted, but something told me not to let it go until he acknowledged me. I turned the light on, to find him arching his neck and back, looking almost dead. I grabbed my phone, called 911, put it on speaker phone and began chest compressions. Our 8 year old daughter awoke and also saw her Daddy like that.

The First Responders relieved me fairly quickly, and had to shock his heart to start beating. They brought him to the ER quite quickly. Not waiting the usual amount of time.

Darren had gone into cardiac arrest. He was in ICU and while his heart was working on its own, and he was breathing on his own, they put him on a vent to give him some support. He was in ICU for a little over a week.

They did a follow up MRI, and discovered that he has a mild anoxic brain injury, from being without oxygen at some point.

He is currently in a regular ward in the hospital, waiting to be transfered to a rehabilitation facility for brain injuries.

He is currently 100% dependent for all of his care. He is speaking, but not always making sense. They have him getting in a wheelchair each day, but he cannot stand, he does not have any coordination. He cannot go to the bathroom on his own, he is also on a feeding tube.

He is ready for rehab, but we wait for a bed. I am being optimistic about the outcome, but I also have to be realistic and know the possibilities.

I just received the quote for what his LTD will be, in another month. It is significantly less than what he was making while at work. We also have more expenses than we used to have, as I am away from home caring for him everyday, spending an average of 8 hours a day in the hospital.

If there is anything that you could help with, it would be very much appreciated.