Let’s Get Greg's Medical Expenses Taken Care Of

BOOM! Greg had been dealing with what he determined to be EPI for a few weeks. Then, he turned yellow, VERY yellow. This prompted a visit to the Cowboy Clinic for blood work. That was Wednesday, June 1, 2022.

 

Life has been a whirlwind ever since.

 

We still don’t really have any concrete answers as of today, June 9, 2022. But this is what we DO know:

 

Thursday, June 2 - I knew we would be headed south to the ER in Cheyenne or to visit with an internal medicine specialist somewhere in Colorado, so I put gas in the car and waited for Greg’s call. Ashley suggested I pack just in case we ended up in the hospital. Good thinking on her part. A CT scan was taken and three appointments were made for Friday. We stayed Thursday night at My Place across I-25 from the hospital and arrived home late Friday night wondering how to process “inoperable pancreatic cancer, 6 months without treatment and lucky to get 10 years with treatment.”

 

Reports from the CT scan and this batch of blood work determined that Greg has aggressive Adeno Carcinoma. The tumor doesn’t appear to be large or to have spread. The doctors said it was stage 1b.

 

Sunday, June 5 - We headed back to Colorado to meet with Dr. Roger Billica and our nutritionist at 8 am Monday. Haley and Ashley joined us later at the hotel Haley paid for Sunday and Monday nights because we all wanted to hear what Dr. Billica had to say as well as what the nutritionist had to say.

 

Monday, June 6 - $4000 later, we were given a plan to help Greg end life as positively as possible, a food plan to follow, and a rough idea about how much money we need each month to pay out of pocket because insurance won’t cover Dr. Billica’s treatment. It was encouraging and somewhat hopeful.

 

Tuesday, June 7 - Greg was knocked out and intubated. Biopsies of his pancreatic tumor were taken and a permanent metal stent was placed in his bile duct to allow bile to drain properly and his color to return to normal. Another CT scan of his torso was taken immediately following the surgery. He was tired, groggy, and drinking lots of water to flush out the dyes used for the CT scan. I drove Greg and me to my dad’s and Laura’s house for the rest of the week.

 

Wednesday, June 8 - We slept in as long as our bodies and minds would allow us to and recuperated a bit from the whirlwind journey that started not even a week ago. Greg has not been in any pain from the start of all this, but he was in a bit of pain following the procedure for the stent and biopsies.

 

Thursday, June 9 - We met with Dr. Matthews in Fort Collins, Colorado to receive the report of the CT scan taken on Tuesday and blood work taken on … I can’t remember. The news was not good. Greg had more blood work taken and an MRI to see if cancer has spread to his liver. He is anemic and his liver looks “questionable.” The tumor is larger than initially determined, and now they want to take biopsies of his liver.

 

We’ve not had time as a family to thoroughly process and discuss the onslaught of information we’ve received.

 

We don’t know how much time we have left to spend with Greg. Is this Father’s Day his last? Will he make it to Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and his 62nd birthday?

 

If you’re wondering what you can do to help us at this time:

 

We need space to process all the information we’ve encountered, our feelings, and how we’re going to live life on a weekly basis now. Things have really changed for us.

 

We need money and lots of it to cover the costs of the care Greg will receive from Dr. Billica since insurance will not help us at all with these costs.

 

We don’t need food. Greg has a very specific diet to follow, and we will each be in charge of meal prep on a week-by-week basis.

 

If you’re a prayer warrior, pray for:

 

Weight gain. He CAN NOT lose any more weight!

 

Wisdom. We want to do what is best for Greg. The end of his life is here, and we don’t want it to be spent in pain and misery. We want to make the most out of every moment.

 

Grace. We need a lot of God’s grace to learn to manage an extreme and new way of life for however long Greg is with us.

 

Greg is a good man with a tender heart. He is in good spirits. We all understand that with good attitudes we will get through this together much better than if we remain angry, bitter, or choose to live with a victim mentality. There are lots of emotions to go through, but we don’t want to remain in any of them.

 

This Go Fund Me account was started to ease the burden of the cost of Greg's care for Greg, Robin, and their girls, Ashley and Haley. The days, weeks, and months ahead will require them to be at countless appointments and treatments 2-3 hours away from home. As you can imagine, the medical costs on top of the costs of everyday living will be astronomical. And since Greg’s care will be out of town, there will be gas, food, hotels, wear and tear on their vehicle, … on top of the costs of everyday living.

 

Your financial gifts will enable the Carters to focus on the best care of Greg and make the most of every moment spent with him.

 

From the bottom of my heart, I ask you to share this link with friends, family, and colleagues and to give whatever amount you’re able to give.

 

Thank you for your gifts and prayers!

 

Shannon Castello for Greg, Robin, Ashley, and Haley Carter