Health Expenses

Hi I’m Maddi Kendall and Nick Kendall is my dad. He is a loving and doting father to 6 children and for the past 2 years our world has been turned upside down. In the beginning, my dad had started having coughing fits that would lead to him having episodes of losing consciousness. He had just gotten over COVID at the time so the assumption was it was just dwelling symptoms that he hadn’t been able to shake yet. Eventually the coughing fits and episodes of losing consciousness led to him coughing up thick mucus which made it hard for him to breathe and his oxygen levels to dip to 90% and the worst being 88%. This was the start of the nightmare. He went to doctor after doctor trying to determine what was happening to him. No one could give us answers, until finally he was referred to his amazing team Dr. Prince, Dr. Shah, Dr. Serbah and Dr. Antiporda. Dr Shah is a pulmonary surgeon who determined that what our dad has been battling is a severe case of tracheomalacia. Tracheomalacia is the “softening” of the cartilage that provides stability to the trachea in order for it to remain open. This was diagnosed via multiple endoscopies determining that my dads trachea at points was closed off by 90+%.

Dr Shah then determined the next step in recovery was continuous usage of a CPAP and placement of stents in his trachea. The stents that were placed immediately caused pain and discomfort for my dad and triggered more coughing fits. He ended up coughing up portions of the lining of his trachea and was immediately admitted into the ICU to have them removed.

After careful consideration and back to the drawing board Dr. Shah made a discovery that shocked us all. He found a connection between my dads previous diagnosis of GERD (reflux) and the damage to his trachea. He determined that his GERD has been well UNDER medicated for many years which resulted in an extremely acid stomach acid. He made the conclusion that when my dad would have the coughing fits it would cause his stomach acid to reflux and trickle into his trachea, literally scorching it.

Our next step was the hiatal hernia surgery, that he is now currently healing from. He has lost 30lbs since the surgery 3 weeks ago due to him being on a strict liquid diet. But we are very pleased with his progress yet. He is now meeting with Harvard in Boston for the surgery on his trachea. Beings that tracheomalacia is extremely rare in adults at the grade that my dad is in, Harvard is our only option to give him the chance to have an open airway again.

Here is where the go fund me comes into play. My dad has been struggling to cover the medical expenses that this condition has brought along with it. He has been attempting to stay afloat for the past 2 years but, with the upcoming surgery in Boston he is really unsure how he will make ends meet after an expensive surgery that could be life altering for him. Any amount will help or even sending him positive vibes/prayers leading up to the surgery.

Our dad is a one of a kind man. He never asks for anything from anyone so, this is how we are repaying him. We want to shine a light on the struggle that he has been enduring, even though he has kept a smile on his face everyday.

We love you Daddy,

Doug, Maddi, Bri, Angel, Christian, and Brooklynn.