Mayo Clinic Return

Hello everyone, family, friends.
I have been conflicted as to whether or not we should go this route.. I have come to realize however I need to swallow my pride, and reach out for help for myself and my family. We have used up our savings, and with being out of work so much the little that I am able to do in between all the appointments is just not cutting it anymore.
Many of you know what has been transpiring, but for those who do not I will explain our situtation.

Last August I began getting some pain in my abdomen. I figured it was due to a poor diet, and lack of proper exercise so I began eating less; which seemed to make the pain go away.

Several months later however after losing weight the pain began to come back. This time it appeared shortly after eating a meal. I brought it up to my doctor, but having lost weight thought it may just be due to the change in my diet. I could have had testing done, but figured that was probably not necessary.

A couple more months went by and I began to have a dull ache that would come and go gradually lasting longer. I also kept getting a low grade fever and night sweats. Periodically I'd wake up at night extremely nauseous and my appetite dropped significantly, but I figured it was just due to my body adapting to my diet change.

Flash forward to February. Over the weekend I came down with a fever that rose steadily, and I felt awful. I went to work on Monday, and by the end of the day I was so sick I called off on Tuesday.

The pain in my abdomen was constant now and flared up whenever I'd eat. I went to the doctor thinking it was the flu. However that came back negative, and the next thing I knew they had me at the hospital getting scans.

I found out later that day that they found most of the lymph nodes in my abdomen appeared abnormal. They sent me back to get blood work, and the next day they called me in to refer me to an oncologist. I was told that it appeared I may have lymphoma, and was sent back to get more blood work and scans.

I met with the oncologist who then sent me to a surgeon in order to get a biopsy done. I met with the surgeon and he showed me the scans indicating that most of the lymph nodes in the left side of my abdomen were extremely enlarged, and unfortunately my small intestine in the same area appeared diseased.

I then had to have surgery to remove a number of lymph nodes, and at the time to evaluate any further damage to my body.

Thankfully the surgery was a success, and as of right now I am cancer free. Unfortunately they discovered that there was damage being done to my body that was not consistent with cancer. I was diagnosed with SM by my doctors, and was told there was not a cure for it; only treatment to help slow the progression of the disease and maybe alleviate some of the pain.

Unfortunately the disease is so rare that there were not any doctors in Cincinnati that knew how to treat me; or were even willing to take on such a task. This led me to seeking out help through the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. They have several Doctors who specialize in this disease, and I was told that was my best chance at any type of a treatment. We left for the Mayo Clinic May 30th in hopes of receiving treatment and maybe finally some relief.

After meeting with two Doctors they went over my scans and gave me serveral tests, as they wanted to rule out any other possibility before agreeing with my diagnosis of SM. They found through the tests, and through reviewing my scans that I have additional damage being done that is not consistent with my original diagnosis. While not completely ruling said diagnosis out they believe that I either have a rare auto-immune disease, or a rare infection hiding in my system that is not found on normal tests.

After another surgery, biopsies, more blood than I thought I had to take, and meeting with over a toatal of 8 Doctors this belief is becoming more likely. While I am happy at the thought of not having SM we are also scared, and disheartened at the thought of still not truly knowing what is happening to me.

Unfortunatley we had to come back home before all the testing could be completed, and now we have to go BACK to the Mayo Clinic in a week and a half so that I can continue the rest of testing.

However we are now about depleted of our finances, and I am unsure how we are going to even make it back.. While being at the Mayo Clinic neither my wife nor I have received any pay, and after being off work for almost two months back when this all began we had to use our savings to get by as back then I was not being paid while off then either.

We still have rent to pay and our water and electric will soon most likley be shut off. Not to mention the cost of just renting a car again, paying for another hotel room, and being able to feed ourselves and children.

I absolutely hate even considering this GoFundMe, but until they are able to figure out what is happening to me, and I can begin some form of treatment and get back to work fulltime our finances are just not there anymore..

Well if anyone is still reading this after my long winded story I am asking on behalf of myself and my family if you have it within your means we could really use some assistance.

If you are unable to help we totally understand; we aren't here to judge anyone, and we truly understand that so many people out there are struggling just as much if not more so than we are at this time.

Again I wasn't sure if I should even say anything, but since things took a different turn than we had hoped for I felt I couldn't wait any longer.

Anyway, thank you so much to those of you who have known and have given Venessa and I so much support. It is truly truly appreciated. The amount of stress we are under right now is truly overwhelming.

I want to thank my Father for everything he has done to assist us in getting there the first time, and to my mother as well for her contributions. I want to thank my mother in-law for being here for us to help with the children and watch them while we have been away so much. Thank you to those of you I haven't called on by name for being there for us.

Venessa and I both hope that this next trip to the Mayo Clinic will be our last, and we can begin to live a more normal life again. I just want to get back to work, and be home to see our children. We are both so tired of hospitals and doctor offices..

Anyway thank you again for ANYthing you are able to contribute.. Thank you even if you cannot help out financially just for being there for us emotionally, mentally, and in friendship. You all will not go forgotten, ever.

Please keep us in your thoughts, and your prayers if you could; mostly for my children, and for Venessa whom again is trying so hard to keep it together for us.

With love   -   Eric, Venessa, Aiden, Marklyn, Tristan, and Bastian