Help Brad. A Story of Cancer, Clots, Insurance, & Setbacks

I started this fundraiser with a hastily high a goal (I'm new to this). After talking with Brad, he thinks that $40,000 would be just an amazing amount to raise to help him and his wife with expenses from this crazy roller coaster that they have been on.

Last Thursday, Brad was supposed to be in Nebraska to see a new surgeon to make a new plan for attacking his health issues. Instead, on Thursday, Brad had brain surgery. The blood thinners he has been on for over a year to try to resolve a blood clot in his heart caused his brain to bleed which has been manifesting as debilitating headaches over the last couple of weeks. He’s actually thrilled that his brain was only bleeding and that he does not have a brain tumor!! Let’s back up with more of his story.

In the fall of 2022, Brad’s back was hurting. In our 40s…this surprises none of us. But it kept getting worse and worse. By November, he can barely walk. An X-ray diagnoses Brad with degenerative spinal issues, not severe enough to merit an MRI. Physical therapy is prescribed and by March of 2023 Brad is feeling pretty good!

Then the pain returns. In late March it’s bad. In April it is severe. So, Brad calls the doctor. On April 23rd, hours before his appointment, a perirectal abscess makes its presence known. By 1PM he is in general surgery to have the abscess drained. His doctor orders a colonoscopy the next day and they find a baked potato sized tumor next to his sphincter. The doctor remarks to Brad’s wife that he would be shocked if that’s not cancer while Brad is still out of it from the procedure.

Brad is sent to the Mercy wound clinic. At the wound clinic they take blood, finding that his white cell count is 25,000 (normal is around 8,000) meaning that the infection in the abscess is really raging. They send him to the ER for IV antibiotics.

After his stint in the ER, he spent three straight days asleep, his wife Erin checking his breathing while he’s out. A week later, the wound clinic doctor finds that there is a fistula (necrotic tissue) in the area of the infection. Yay.

Mercy has now referred Brad to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). For four weeks Brad lives with throbbing sphincter pain while his referral goes though. Eventually his health care team at UIHC determines that Brad has stage 3 rectal cancer with a malignant rectal fistula. Yikes.

He is treated with chemotherapy from June to September. During his post-chemo, pre-radiation scan, he is told to get to the ER immediately as they found two blood clots in his groin, one in his lungs, and one in his heart. After several days on clot busters in intensive care he is down to one clot in his heart.

So, Brad leaves the ICU in early 2024 to get back to his life on heavy duty blood thinners with his complex fistula surgery scheduled for March so that the clot in his heart has time to resolve. The clot is still large and in charge in March, so his surgery is pushed to June. Since it looks like the heart clot has calcified and is here to stay, he’ll need heart surgery first…except his surgeon leaves her position at UIHC during this time. When she tells Brad the bad news, she also says that the other two surgeons who could maybe handle his case don’t feel comfortable attempting it so he’s being referred to Mayo.

Brad keeps walking around with a calcified blood clot in his heart for two more months waiting on Mayo to call him. They don’t. He finally calls them, and they get right back to him. Apparently, the pre-authorization department missed the referrals. Mayo schedules him for about eight appointments in one day and he’s thrilled to be getting going the next week! Cue the insurance roadblock…Mayo is out-of-network, and they don’t want to pay for that. Insurance will not approve his Mayo care without a peer to peer. That’s where your doctor talks to a doctor who works for the insurance company to plead your case.

After this discussion, Mayo is not approved. The insurance company has found an in-network doctor in Nebraska that they have deemed qualified to treat Brad. We are caught up in time to this fall in his story and he’s at my house a lot working on my remodel. His phone rings off the hook between work, medical advocates, his Dad (a retired doctor and trusted sounding board), Nebraska schedulers, his docs at UIHC, and the insurance company. He tells me that his head is just throbbing, he hears rushing in his ears, and he is white as a sheet. This has been happening for a couple of weeks, so UIHC gets him in for a scan and he has brain surgery to correct the bleed a couple of days later…he is now at home with a very impressive Frankenstein head.

One step forward two steps (or maybe seven steps) back is Brad’s story so far. He plans to use any funds donated here for medical care costs and missed work. Which there will hopefully be some of soon when he gets the next two surgeries he needs. So, it’s on to Nebraska he hopes! I’ll keep you all updated and thanks for your support!

Excerpts from the original post:

Who's the best guy you know? Brad. Who's the best plumber you know? Brad. Who sends the best gifs? Brad. Who will tell it to you straight that an egg shaped wall mounted $5,000 smart toilet is a stupid thing to buy? Brad. Who needs a lot of surgery? Brad.

Brad is battling the evil giant...the insurance company...his cancer is actually the least of his problems. If you have seen Brad in the last few years, you've probably heard something about his health journey since he is such an open book.

If you live or work in and around Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, or Cedar Rapids, Brad has probably been the guy making sure that your favorite restaurant, your home renovation, or your new business is set up with the plumbing it needs.

We are not surgeons (well most of us are not) but we can help by raising money! Brad was hesitant to allow this fundraiser but he has persistent and convincing friends. Think about how awesome Brad is and how much we value him both as an amazing human and his work in our community and contribute what you can. Thanks so much!