Jim Powell’s Memorial Fund
Donation protected
Jim hasn’t been feeling well since the end of December/early January. At first Jim thought he had the flu. He ran a fever everyday that took hours to go away and he was having periodic abdominal pain. The fevers were worse at night because he continued to work full time while sick. After two weeks continuously running a fever, abdominal pains and barely able to function his wife forced him to go to the emergency room on January 16th. While at the ER he had an X-ray and ultrasound and was told he had pleurisy. They gave him Tylenol, fluids and told him to take some time off work to rest. They also told him he had some nodules on his lungs that he should have rechecked in a year.
Jim stayed home from work for the rest of the week, his fever never went away and the pain got worse. On January 23rd he called his mom to pick him up and take him back to the ER; his wife met them there. It took a while to see a Dr. but when she finally came in; she saw how much pain Jim was in and that he had a fever over 102 degrees, she immediately suspected gall bladder attack. She ordered pain meds, fever meds, nausea meds, blood work and abdominal ultrasound and chest X-ray. After the first results came back prior to telling us anything she ordered a CT Scan with contrast. Around midnight the Dr. came back and told us they were admitting Jim to the hospital for more testing as the initial results showed multiple masses in the liver, lymph nodes and rectum consistent with malignancy. This diagnosis is not what either expected and it took a while to sink in.
The following day Jim continued to run a fever, which the Dr.’s were trying to figure out if there was an infection in his blood or anywhere else in his body to cause them continuously. Nothing suspicious came back. The oncologist came to consult with Jim and gave the diagnosis of Stage IV rectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver and lymph nodes. They prepped him that night for a colonoscopy/biopsy the following day.
Colonoscopy/biopsy was done on Friday, January 25th. He continued to run fevers and was on antibiotics to try and fight the fevers as well as Tylenol and morphine as needed for pain.
Through the weekend they tried to keep Jim comfortable, however the high fevers were awful. At one point he had 4 ice packs around his head and neck to try to cool his body down. They would go away for a while with meds but then a few hours later they would be back with a vengeance.
Monday, January 28th Jim had a liver biopsy which caused him a lot of pain later which he had to have more pain meds for along with the fevers. Bloodwork still shows no sign of infection; the Dr.’s have determined that Jim has a tumor fever. Essentially the fevers are directly from the cancer. The colonoscopy/biopsy came back inconclusive and negative for cancer. The Dr. basically said that it is still cancer but the particular areas tested were clean. The liver biopsy would tell them more.
Tuesday, an infectious disease Dr. was brought in to consult due to the fevers. He was in agreement that they are caused by the tumors. Fevers continued again. Liver biopsy came back positive for Adenocarcinoma which is consistent with rectal cancer. Next is to come up with the treatment plan.
On Wednesday, January 30th, Jim’s wife was able to speak with the oncologist about the diagnosis. He told them at this time he wants to start with chemo FOLFOX. He believes this will slow down the growth and help alleviate the fevers. Considering the lymph nodes and liver have been affected and the nodules in the lungs are suspicious which means the cancer is advanced.
On January 31st a port was put into Jim’s chest and he was discharged so that he can begin treatment next week.
Jim is a lifelong resident of Jacksonville, Florida. Jim is a loyal friend, husband, son, father and “Grumpy” to Valerie! He grew up in the Holiday Hill/Glynlea neighborhood and is still close to many of his childhood friends. In his teens he was a member of the local band Lethyl. He also reunited with the band twice for reunion shows. He has continued to write and play music with his lifelong friends throughout the years.
With the long road ahead this GoFundMe page was created to respectfully request assistance with medical bills and living expenses during this difficult time. Thankfully, Jim’s wife was able to get him on her health insurance through work thanks to her very kind and generous employer. Even with health insurance there will be coinsurance and medications that will need to be paid as well as normal living expenses. Both Jim and his wife have worked very hard all of their life and like many, live paycheck to paycheck. They are down to one income overnight as Jim is too ill and weak to work at this time and has no idea when and if he will be able to go back in the future. His wife will miss many days at work due to treatment appointments and consultations with the Dr.’s. Jim’s mom and oldest son have agreed to help with his care and transportation to some appointments.
Thank you for taking the time to read Jim’s story and any donations are very much appreciated.
Jim stayed home from work for the rest of the week, his fever never went away and the pain got worse. On January 23rd he called his mom to pick him up and take him back to the ER; his wife met them there. It took a while to see a Dr. but when she finally came in; she saw how much pain Jim was in and that he had a fever over 102 degrees, she immediately suspected gall bladder attack. She ordered pain meds, fever meds, nausea meds, blood work and abdominal ultrasound and chest X-ray. After the first results came back prior to telling us anything she ordered a CT Scan with contrast. Around midnight the Dr. came back and told us they were admitting Jim to the hospital for more testing as the initial results showed multiple masses in the liver, lymph nodes and rectum consistent with malignancy. This diagnosis is not what either expected and it took a while to sink in.
The following day Jim continued to run a fever, which the Dr.’s were trying to figure out if there was an infection in his blood or anywhere else in his body to cause them continuously. Nothing suspicious came back. The oncologist came to consult with Jim and gave the diagnosis of Stage IV rectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver and lymph nodes. They prepped him that night for a colonoscopy/biopsy the following day.
Colonoscopy/biopsy was done on Friday, January 25th. He continued to run fevers and was on antibiotics to try and fight the fevers as well as Tylenol and morphine as needed for pain.
Through the weekend they tried to keep Jim comfortable, however the high fevers were awful. At one point he had 4 ice packs around his head and neck to try to cool his body down. They would go away for a while with meds but then a few hours later they would be back with a vengeance.
Monday, January 28th Jim had a liver biopsy which caused him a lot of pain later which he had to have more pain meds for along with the fevers. Bloodwork still shows no sign of infection; the Dr.’s have determined that Jim has a tumor fever. Essentially the fevers are directly from the cancer. The colonoscopy/biopsy came back inconclusive and negative for cancer. The Dr. basically said that it is still cancer but the particular areas tested were clean. The liver biopsy would tell them more.
Tuesday, an infectious disease Dr. was brought in to consult due to the fevers. He was in agreement that they are caused by the tumors. Fevers continued again. Liver biopsy came back positive for Adenocarcinoma which is consistent with rectal cancer. Next is to come up with the treatment plan.
On Wednesday, January 30th, Jim’s wife was able to speak with the oncologist about the diagnosis. He told them at this time he wants to start with chemo FOLFOX. He believes this will slow down the growth and help alleviate the fevers. Considering the lymph nodes and liver have been affected and the nodules in the lungs are suspicious which means the cancer is advanced.
On January 31st a port was put into Jim’s chest and he was discharged so that he can begin treatment next week.
Jim is a lifelong resident of Jacksonville, Florida. Jim is a loyal friend, husband, son, father and “Grumpy” to Valerie! He grew up in the Holiday Hill/Glynlea neighborhood and is still close to many of his childhood friends. In his teens he was a member of the local band Lethyl. He also reunited with the band twice for reunion shows. He has continued to write and play music with his lifelong friends throughout the years.
With the long road ahead this GoFundMe page was created to respectfully request assistance with medical bills and living expenses during this difficult time. Thankfully, Jim’s wife was able to get him on her health insurance through work thanks to her very kind and generous employer. Even with health insurance there will be coinsurance and medications that will need to be paid as well as normal living expenses. Both Jim and his wife have worked very hard all of their life and like many, live paycheck to paycheck. They are down to one income overnight as Jim is too ill and weak to work at this time and has no idea when and if he will be able to go back in the future. His wife will miss many days at work due to treatment appointments and consultations with the Dr.’s. Jim’s mom and oldest son have agreed to help with his care and transportation to some appointments.
Thank you for taking the time to read Jim’s story and any donations are very much appreciated.
Organizer
Tamara Powell
Organizer
Jacksonville, FL