Kelly Wilder's Fight with Cancer

Kelly Wilder is fighting the biggest fight of his life. Please consider helping this wonderful family that give back so much to our community! Helping to ease their financial burdens during a time when they are focusing on Kelly's treatments would mean the world to the family.

During this time Kelly will be unable to work. Cori has now become a 24/7 caregiver. The current plan is to complete 6 weekly rounds of chemo therapy, 25 rounds of daily radiation. Take about a 6 week break after treatment to see if the cancer has responded enough to complete surgery to remove the tumor. There will be a 6-8 week recovery time after surgery.

This money will go towards Kelly and Cori's household bills, gas money & travel expenses to travel from North River area to Olympia daily. This fundraiser will also help support Kelly's tube feeding which costs $212 out of pocket every week. Any donations would be greatly appreciated and ease the financial burden and stress.

Kelly's wife Cori has written a daily testimony of their journey and couldn't relay their story any better than this!

December 2023 -

This Christmas came with a bit of hard news for our family. We have told a few people but really wanted to wait until after Christmas to share.Kelly was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer a little over a week ago. We are waiting on some more tests to see if it has spread before we have a treatment plan. At this point, we are just trying to get him some nourishment as he awaits a feeding tube. It has gotten progressively harder for him to eat, not because of pain in his throat, but pain in his stomach. He is mainly drinking high calorie shakes. Which if getting harder. His energy levels are expectantly shot. But he is still trying to do as much as his body allows. He has lost a lot of weight, and though originally he was trying to, this was not in his plan of action. This is the hardest things to watch, a man typically so full of life and strength, but God!God is still good, He is still on the throne. We have no say over our time here on earth. We are fully trusting Him as we walk this journey.

Does that mean it will always be easy?

No.

Will there be tears?

Probably daily.

But we are holding fast to the hope set before us. That we have eternity with Christ by trusting in Him as our savior.

December 30th

God has been so gracious!

We were able to get the PET scheduled for the 2nd instead of the 16th and will have a follow up with oncology on the 8th!The feeding tube consultation is bumped from the 11th to the 4th! Praising God for His Mighty hand in all this.

Kelly is VERY tired. Even talking on the phone exhausts him, which we know he loves to do. So we are trying to guard his time and energy. Hard to know exactly what that looks like because everyday seems to bring new changes. He is usually in bed by about 4:30, but probably not getting super quality rest. We love you all! Thank you for your prayers! Trusting the only one who has control! ❤️

January 3rd Keep praying…

Per the recommendation of the oncologist we brought Kelly to the ER today. We have been here since 3, they are overcrowded. But Kelly will be admitted tonight. Hoping to expedite the feeding tube and get him hydrated. He also has some signs of GI bleed, so we will hopefully determine what the cause is most likely the esophageal mass.

He is feeling really good right now! He got some medication!

What we see is that there is a huge need for Jesus! So many broken and hurting people here! Thankful that we have access to medical facilities!

God is good!❤️

January 5th

Thank you all so much for your out pouring of love! We are overwhelmed with all the thoughts, prayers and kindness from you all! We are still at the hospital and in waiting. He is being taken care of very well. Pain is managed and he is being hydrated. At this point the team is working hard to figure out the best plan for the feeding tube. With the GI bleeding there is concerns about sedation. So they are trying to decide if it should be done by interventional radiology, however they are not available over the weekend. So we are still waiting. But he is resting and feeling a bit better with the hydration.

Praise:

God is still good!

He has a plan so much greater than ours!

We got sleep!!

I was not kicked out! They said that I couldn’t stay… but I did!

Great staff!

Lots of opportunities to talk about Jesus!

He gained a pound! With the IV fluids

January 6 update

Kelly fared well through the night. He is handling the pain from the double surgery well. He was able to get up and walk around twice so far. The same surgeon is going to put a port in him tomorrow morning. He is scheduled for 8 am. Praising the Lord for such an amazing medical staff and how quickly they are able to get things moving.

Prayer:

Kelly’s hemoglobin is low. They are keeping an eye on it and there is a chance of him having a transfusion to get him in top shape for a second surgery.

Praise:

His oncologist will be on staff here tomorrow so we will have a chance to chat with him and get a game plan. He may even start chemotherapy while he is here.

We are both resting fairly well and enjoying our time together need if it looks different than we are used to❤️

I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband!

God is so good!

January 7th -

Kelly had a pretty rough night, as far as pain/rest goes. But God in His perfect timing sent the doctor by so we are switching around some meds to try and get it under control. Prepping for surgery right now, it was bumped to 12:15. Pray he can get some relief and that he handles surgery well.

January 8th -

Kelly is doing well. He started a slow feed with the feeding tube today. And that seems to be going pretty well. We did talk to the oncologist for a few minutes yesterday but we still do. It have a plan of action. We are waiting for the pathology reports to come across still to know exactly what we are dealing with. The company the biopsies were sent to had a ransomware hack so they are taking much longer that usual. But in the mean time we will manage pain, keep him hydrated and nourished! Thanks for your continued prayers as we keep moving forward! ❤️❤️

January 10th - The oncologist just came in with some updates! She got verbal reports on the biopsies, the mass in the esophagus is coming back as squamous cell esophageal cancer, but the bone marrow biopsy came back negative. Still waiting on the results from the bone tissue but she is sure it will be negative as well. Praising the Lord! He is so good! So once he is stable nutritionally looks like treatment will be 6 weeks of radiation 5 x a week, with chemotherapy the first day of each week. Then we will do a pet scan to see how it is responding. There is not staging at point, because of the process to to stage this type of cancer. After the treatment they may go in and remove the mass.

Just amazed at the way God is making the way, asking us to continue trusting Him!

January 13th - Almost two full days home. Yesterday was good everything seem to be tolerated well. Today has been hard. Kelly is having a bit of trouble with the feeding increases. Experiencing some bloating. But we were able to take him off for a little bit and then we will decrease the amount. Pain has been mostly managed until the bloating today, so that’s good. He has zero energy…zero! So I am trying to get him to do small exercises every 3 hours while he gets meds. He gets up to use the bathroom and then usually right back to sleep.

January 14th - 15th

We are back at the hospital. He was having extreme pain, vomiting and bloating. Kelly has a small bowel blockage, not sure of the exact plan yet, but he is admitted just waiting for a room. He is very miserable right now, keeps getting extremely painful hiccups. Thanks for praying with us as we walk this! We could not do it without all of you!

Looking to the Lord for healing and comfort!

January 16th

God is so good! We both were able to catch up on sleep having been up all night the night before. I kept waking wondering if they had given him a super drug that I didn’t know about because he was sleeping so well and not waking in pain. Kelly is getting so much relief. He hasn’t needed pain medicine since the last night at 6. Which is huge! Because he had needed it every couple hours and had been at an 8 every time he needed it. Praising God! Also he had a bowel movement! This is one thing they were hoping for as a sign of the obstruction clearing on its own! Thank you Jesus!! Right now they are doing an ultrasound making sure there are no blood clots in his legs, he was having a bit of pain. Could definitely be from just being in bed. They are taking precautions against Pneumonia and Sepsis. He was displaying some signs of both. But catching it early and monitoring it closely is key. So he is receiving some antibiotics and they are monitoring his vitals. Was reminded this morning in a devotional that God doesn’t spare us from the Lions den because of our faith and prayers, but He protects us in them and causes us to grow through them!

Be encouraged friends! God is mighty and He’s is forever on the Throne!

January 18th

Today Kelly is having a Bowel follow test, a solution injected into his feeding tube, followed by a series of X-rays. This is to see if there is still a blockage. Typically it involves an initial X-ray, one an hour later, and a final at the 3 hour mark. He has had those and needs to have another. If they find a blockage still, they will do a laparoscopy to see what is causing it.

We are praying that it is clear! They did find a blood clot in his left calf yesterday, that of course is being handled with blood thinners. He is resting now, trying to keep his eyes on Christ when the frustration comes.

January 18

Alright friends we are praying for a miracle today.

The surgeon just came in and said there is still a blockage. So they are gonna do a laparoscopic surgery today to see if they can see/fix the issue. They may have to open up but hoping they can just do it with small incisions and long tools. There are a few things that can cause the blockage. None of them are necessarily ideal. Also not sure if I mention he does have a blood clot in his leg. Using blood thinners to manage that.

Praying that the obstruction might resolve itself before the surgery. Praying for ZERO complications with surgery. Praying for rest and continued peace that surpasses all understanding. Not exactly how we wanted to spend our anniversary, but at least we are together ❤️❤️ It’s not our wedding anniversary, but the one we typically celebrate, the day we met. We married 7 months later…17 years ago

January 19th -Kelly is out of surgery.

I’m still processing the details as there were a lot but basically there was a distal obstruction where the small intestine meets the bowel. He did not need to do a resection so that’s good. They were not able to take care of it laparoscopically, so he has a long recovery ahead. Probably a couple weeks here at the hospital. They had to open his stomach up. The surgeon mentioned a few more things, but I need to confirm what I think he said. Thanks you for continuing to pray, we are gonna need it❤️❤️

God is still good

January 29th - How’s Kelly???

Well in short, we are home and adjusting to life with a feeding tube, meds, sleepless nights and all things caregiving and being sick.

Over all he is able to rest better at home. I take every chance I get to lay hands on him and pray for him.

This is where you will usually find him. He is still so exhausted and the feeding is taking a toll on his body. We are looking into possibly different food, or some supplements because he having issues with diarrhea and serious bloating.

I dropped him down from a full feeding in hopes to get him some relief. Which has helped with the bloating. Part of the issue is that he was so malnourished, it takes time for the body to start to accept nutrition. We are looking at a new food option as well.

Thanks for all your continued prayer!

We have 3 appointments this week.

1 to set up radiation

1 to have staples removed

1 for a consultation with the surgeon at Swedish who will remove the lower part of his esophagus and upper portion of his stomach.

Praising Jesus for…

*all the opportunities to be an encouragement to others!

* that we have spent the last couple years investing in his health with great supplements so he was not on a bunch of medications causing further issues! And that he can still use them!

* starting to see photos of the Team Kelly tshirts! Thanks youHummingbird Hill Crafts! So cool to have that support!

January 31st -Kelly met with his radiation oncologist today, the appointment was to talk about what radiation will look like, pros/cons, that sort of thing.

The next appointment would be to do the CT Mapping.

Then schedule treatment from there.

But… in typical God fashion, they were able to just do the CT right then!! It would have been last next week at the earliest.

So he will officially start treatment in two weeks.

6 weeks total

Radiation 5 days a week

Chemotherapy the first day of the week

Then we will reevaluate and see how it responded and see if he is eligible for the surgery to remove the bottom portion of his esophagus and top part of the stomach.

Tomorrow he gets stitches out.

Friday is a virtual appointment with the surgeon at Swedish!

February 4th - I didn’t even know today was world cancer day! But it is…so we are praying for all those affected by this disease! Praying that the cancer is not wasted, that through it God will be glorified! In our home we are fighting Esophageal cancer! Praising God it hasn’t spread.

First Chemo is February 13

First radiation is February 14

Six weeks 5 days a week for radiation, once a week for chemo.

Then surgery to remove the lower potion of his esophagus and the top of his stomach.

He will start some PT to regain some strength now and while in treatment so he can have the surgery.

Trusting the Lord, because He is absolutely sovereign!

February 14th - Well we are 1/6 of the way done with Chemo!

I know you are all wondering how it went. As much as we were hoping and praying for an

un-eventful first time, that was not the case. We arrived at 7:15 as per our appointment time. The plan was to have blood work done first and then chemo. Which is the customary procedure for Chemo. However they didn’t realize he had a port, so we waited to have the blood work done through the port.

For those unfamiliar with the chemo process, you have blood work done, then it is sent to the doctor to make sure imyou are stable enough for Chemo, the the pharmacist gets the orders for chemo and makes it, then you get pre-meds, antinausea, steroids, and Benadryl. Then for the first chemo treatment he needed to start with a small dose, to watch for reaction. Then slowly increase to a full dose. All while watching for any weird symptoms, abnormal feelings, etc.

Fast forward: blood work is done, pre-meds done, first low dose administered and Kelly has pretty much slept through all of this. She increases the dose and is checking someone’s elses vitals, Kelly squirms and looks at me. I ask him what’s wrong, he says he has a weird pain in his back. The nurse turns around, says what kind of pain? He says it’s like a sharp pain running down my spine! She’s like let’s sit him up, in a calm panic shuts his chemo off, calls for the other nurses, all of a sudden there are like 5 other nurses and the pharmacist in the room try inget more Benadryl and steroids in him.

All that to say he had a reaction.

We caught it quick, they acted quick, he recovered quick and was able to finish.

The appointment was much longer than anticipated but we are home. He is tired and detoxing for sure. Lots of sweating!

The beautiful things is Gods faithfulness, I was gonna run to the store but the Lord told me to stay. And I’m so glad I did, Kelly’s plan was to power through the pain, which would not have ended well. Thanks Lord! ❤️