Jodi’s Road To Recovery ❤️
Donation protected
Jodi Lea Wells- Mother of myself, Austin and Maggie. The best Nana to McKinley. A friend to many. And one of the most genuine, loving and humble caregivers I have ever met. Never needing or wanting anything from anyone, always the one giving and opening up her heart.
To say the last six months haven’t been easy is an understatement. In March of this year, Mom had fallen at work which resulted in not just one but two broken arms. Just short of two months later on May 24th, I had gotten a phone call from her saying she was at work and was having a hard time breathing. Felt as if she wasn’t going to catch her next breath. Peter and I drove down to pick her up and we headed into the ER.
After hours of x-rays, scans, blood draws and tests we were accompanied by a doctor with results. While reviewing the imaging of her chest, focusing on her lungs, the x-ray just happened to capture part of her kidneys and stomach. Her lungs looked okay, it was her kidney and stomach that didn’t… Not what we were expecting. The doctor continued to say she had a tumor on her left kidney and a bulge in the wall of her body’s main artery called the aorta. The aorta carries blood from the heart to the body. This “bulge” in Moms stomach, is an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. The mass on her kidney- Renal Cell Carcinoma Stage 3.
Have you ever been told something that immediately makes you sick to your stomach? Something that hit so hard you didn’t know if you were going to cry or scream? That was me. I can’t imagine what was going through her head because I could barely wrap it around mine. We had no idea what the next months to come would look like.
75% of kidney tumors are cancerous. We were lucky enough for Mom to be taken care of by Dr. Abel and his team- Dr. Abel specializes in the surgical treatment of urologic malignancies and is certified by the American Board of Urology. Dr. Abel conducts clinical, translational, and basic research in urologic oncology. Interests include improving patient outcomes after complex urologic surgery, improving prognostic ability for patient decision making, and multidisciplinary care of kidney cancer. We knew she was in good hands.
A biopsy was completed July 26th, from there is when the complications started and it became hard for Mom to think positively. Mom was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma Stage 2. After the biopsy, she became very sick and was in severe pain. After being taken by ambulance, they found her kidney was leaking and she had an infection. The sickness never went away and only got worse. Dr. Abel confidently decided her kidney needed to be removed. Referral was put in place and the next available emergent appointment was September 12th. Seven weeks away. In that time frame I have never seen my mom so sick. I started to wonder if she was going to be able to hang in there until surgery day, she was weak and exhausted. Mentally drained. Couldn’t eat. This lasted for seven weeks, SEVEN. She did her best to get herself the healthiest she could be so they could move forward with the kidney removal.
Surgery day finally came, along with the fear, uncertainty and emotions of it. Our day began at 6:45am and by 7:15pm, surgery was complete and she was settled in her room with UWs inpatient team, who are all absolutely amazing. They kept my mom more positive and together than they will ever know. Surgery went as planned and Dr. Abel is happy with the outcome and hopeful for a good recovery.
At this time, Mom is home and has begun her recovery period which Dr. Abel estimates to be between 6-8 weeks. In this time of healing, my wish is for my mom to be able to focus solely on her recovery. To not stress, nor worry about anything else. The treatment plan and further observation for the aneurysm in her stomach comes after this chapter is closed. My mom needs to be healthy and strong to move forward with the continuation of this journey before she tackles the next chapter.
I have been reminding myself it is okay to ask for help. My mom is my best friend and we have stuck side by side in this together since day one. She would never ask for help, she has had a hard time accepting even the smallest of things from even Maggie, Austin and I. She has always put everyone else before herself and for once it is her that could use a little support. I would like to try and ease some financial stress as best as I can at this time with rent, bills, medications, and medical costs that are not covered by her insurance that have added up quickly.
Any amount helps and is beyond appreciated. If you are unable to donate, please help me share and keep her in your thoughts. ❤️
With love,
Alyssa
To say the last six months haven’t been easy is an understatement. In March of this year, Mom had fallen at work which resulted in not just one but two broken arms. Just short of two months later on May 24th, I had gotten a phone call from her saying she was at work and was having a hard time breathing. Felt as if she wasn’t going to catch her next breath. Peter and I drove down to pick her up and we headed into the ER.
After hours of x-rays, scans, blood draws and tests we were accompanied by a doctor with results. While reviewing the imaging of her chest, focusing on her lungs, the x-ray just happened to capture part of her kidneys and stomach. Her lungs looked okay, it was her kidney and stomach that didn’t… Not what we were expecting. The doctor continued to say she had a tumor on her left kidney and a bulge in the wall of her body’s main artery called the aorta. The aorta carries blood from the heart to the body. This “bulge” in Moms stomach, is an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. The mass on her kidney- Renal Cell Carcinoma Stage 3.
Have you ever been told something that immediately makes you sick to your stomach? Something that hit so hard you didn’t know if you were going to cry or scream? That was me. I can’t imagine what was going through her head because I could barely wrap it around mine. We had no idea what the next months to come would look like.
75% of kidney tumors are cancerous. We were lucky enough for Mom to be taken care of by Dr. Abel and his team- Dr. Abel specializes in the surgical treatment of urologic malignancies and is certified by the American Board of Urology. Dr. Abel conducts clinical, translational, and basic research in urologic oncology. Interests include improving patient outcomes after complex urologic surgery, improving prognostic ability for patient decision making, and multidisciplinary care of kidney cancer. We knew she was in good hands.
A biopsy was completed July 26th, from there is when the complications started and it became hard for Mom to think positively. Mom was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma Stage 2. After the biopsy, she became very sick and was in severe pain. After being taken by ambulance, they found her kidney was leaking and she had an infection. The sickness never went away and only got worse. Dr. Abel confidently decided her kidney needed to be removed. Referral was put in place and the next available emergent appointment was September 12th. Seven weeks away. In that time frame I have never seen my mom so sick. I started to wonder if she was going to be able to hang in there until surgery day, she was weak and exhausted. Mentally drained. Couldn’t eat. This lasted for seven weeks, SEVEN. She did her best to get herself the healthiest she could be so they could move forward with the kidney removal.
Surgery day finally came, along with the fear, uncertainty and emotions of it. Our day began at 6:45am and by 7:15pm, surgery was complete and she was settled in her room with UWs inpatient team, who are all absolutely amazing. They kept my mom more positive and together than they will ever know. Surgery went as planned and Dr. Abel is happy with the outcome and hopeful for a good recovery.
At this time, Mom is home and has begun her recovery period which Dr. Abel estimates to be between 6-8 weeks. In this time of healing, my wish is for my mom to be able to focus solely on her recovery. To not stress, nor worry about anything else. The treatment plan and further observation for the aneurysm in her stomach comes after this chapter is closed. My mom needs to be healthy and strong to move forward with the continuation of this journey before she tackles the next chapter.
I have been reminding myself it is okay to ask for help. My mom is my best friend and we have stuck side by side in this together since day one. She would never ask for help, she has had a hard time accepting even the smallest of things from even Maggie, Austin and I. She has always put everyone else before herself and for once it is her that could use a little support. I would like to try and ease some financial stress as best as I can at this time with rent, bills, medications, and medical costs that are not covered by her insurance that have added up quickly.
Any amount helps and is beyond appreciated. If you are unable to donate, please help me share and keep her in your thoughts. ❤️
With love,
Alyssa
Organizer and beneficiary
Alyssa Langer
Organizer
Pardeeville, WI
Jodi Wells
Beneficiary