Max's Medical Expenses
Donation protected
(Written by my Mom, Valerie)
My husband Max contracted a rare and painful disease called Pyoderma Gangrenosum in December of 2019. It is an auto-immune disorder that took months for the medical realm to diagnose. By then, there were already huge areas on his legs that had started to eat away at the flesh. Starting in January of 2020, multiple types of antibiotic treatments were tried… we had seen dermatologists, hematologists, infection disease experts and rheumatologists… the wounds still continued to get larger and deeper - to the point that tendons and muscles were exposed in his legs. The month of June saw Max’s first hospital stay which lasted two months; Sepsis had set in. Since that time, he has been in and out of hospitals six times. We have lost count of ER visits... I have now been taught how to do the needed wound dressing changes daily from home which is a long and painful process for Max. This immune disorder has three specific pains as Max describes them:
1. Nerve pain that shoots like lighting all over the legs
2. A burning that Max describes as if a hot cheese pizza is being held to his leg
3. Feels like someone is stabbing a red hot screw driver into the leg bone
Strong medicines to try and help the wounds begin to heal have been given to Max ,only to be taken away shortly after administration due to his kidneys not being able to tolerate it.
As of today, Max is in another hospital, where they have discovered that the infection that has set in this time is VERY resistant to antibiotics. The Dr.’s are telling us that there are only two antibiotics left to try that may eradicate this strain of infection. We have been told that the treatment of these antibiotics will cost us $445 a day out of pocket for the next 10-14 days which I will be administering intravenously at home once he is discharged. In addition, the costs of the needed dressing change material and other medical supplies is approximately $325 a month which is not covered by our Medicare insurance when we are not in the hospital. Because of this, at this time, we find ourselves in need of an estimated $8,200 to cover Max’s medical needs for the coming 6 months based on what we know at this time.
The specialist has told us that the healing and recovery for this disease is a very slow process and will be a long road; at this time, we don’t know when he will be fully recovered. We covet your prayers for healing, wisdom for the Doctors and for Max’s pain to ease as he has now been living with unrelenting, intense pain, daily, for the last year.
We want to give our heartfelt appreciation to those who have taken the time to read this and are able to give any help financially or through prayer. It means so much to Max and I during this very difficult time!
UPDATE as of 12/28/2020:
Thank-you all so much for your outpouring of love and generosity towards us! Since we originally shared with you what was going on, and the need, the last week or so has been a whirlwind of things happening and changing as well as a roller-coaster of emotions!! To try to make a long story short, after several days in the hospital waiting on results of cultures to determine the exact strain of bacteria and the best medicine to use for it, Max was released from the hospital and sent home to start his course of strong antibiotics. However, within 30 minutes of being home, he had to go back to the hospital via ambulance before even receiving his first dose. Due to several reasons, they weren't able to start him on the antibiotics at this time either... Instead, he remained in the hospital several more days and then was released again. This time, we got a call from the pharmacy telling us not to give him the prescribed antibiotics because they had been recalled globally due to contamination. "Man, you guys can't catch a break can you?" they said... So, we had to wait a couple more days for them to tell us what alternate medicine could be used in its place which ended up being even more expensive than the first one, this one being about $1,000 a day! This was on Christmas Eve and I got sooo stressed out and discouraged about it all!! But then God... I talked to one of our Dr.s and he said he would make some calls and look into things for us. Later that day he called back and told us the amazing news that he didn't think Max needed to take the strong antibiotics at this time after all as the most recent labs seemed to reflect that for now, the infection in the blood (which we were most concerned about) had resolved with the other medicine. Talk about a huge relief and blessing! We were thrilled!!!
So, we have adjusted to original goal of $8,200 to $4,600 which is the amount donated as of today. This will be more than enough to cover several months expenses of the medical supplies needed for Max's dressing changes and other medical expenses based on what we know today. Of course, as we have learned through this process, things are always changing and we don't know what the future holds but we are extremely thankful for the way you have stood in the gap for us through encouragement, prayers, financial, and practical help. We are truly blessed to have all of you as friends!
My husband Max contracted a rare and painful disease called Pyoderma Gangrenosum in December of 2019. It is an auto-immune disorder that took months for the medical realm to diagnose. By then, there were already huge areas on his legs that had started to eat away at the flesh. Starting in January of 2020, multiple types of antibiotic treatments were tried… we had seen dermatologists, hematologists, infection disease experts and rheumatologists… the wounds still continued to get larger and deeper - to the point that tendons and muscles were exposed in his legs. The month of June saw Max’s first hospital stay which lasted two months; Sepsis had set in. Since that time, he has been in and out of hospitals six times. We have lost count of ER visits... I have now been taught how to do the needed wound dressing changes daily from home which is a long and painful process for Max. This immune disorder has three specific pains as Max describes them:
1. Nerve pain that shoots like lighting all over the legs
2. A burning that Max describes as if a hot cheese pizza is being held to his leg
3. Feels like someone is stabbing a red hot screw driver into the leg bone
Strong medicines to try and help the wounds begin to heal have been given to Max ,only to be taken away shortly after administration due to his kidneys not being able to tolerate it.
As of today, Max is in another hospital, where they have discovered that the infection that has set in this time is VERY resistant to antibiotics. The Dr.’s are telling us that there are only two antibiotics left to try that may eradicate this strain of infection. We have been told that the treatment of these antibiotics will cost us $445 a day out of pocket for the next 10-14 days which I will be administering intravenously at home once he is discharged. In addition, the costs of the needed dressing change material and other medical supplies is approximately $325 a month which is not covered by our Medicare insurance when we are not in the hospital. Because of this, at this time, we find ourselves in need of an estimated $8,200 to cover Max’s medical needs for the coming 6 months based on what we know at this time.
The specialist has told us that the healing and recovery for this disease is a very slow process and will be a long road; at this time, we don’t know when he will be fully recovered. We covet your prayers for healing, wisdom for the Doctors and for Max’s pain to ease as he has now been living with unrelenting, intense pain, daily, for the last year.
We want to give our heartfelt appreciation to those who have taken the time to read this and are able to give any help financially or through prayer. It means so much to Max and I during this very difficult time!
UPDATE as of 12/28/2020:
Thank-you all so much for your outpouring of love and generosity towards us! Since we originally shared with you what was going on, and the need, the last week or so has been a whirlwind of things happening and changing as well as a roller-coaster of emotions!! To try to make a long story short, after several days in the hospital waiting on results of cultures to determine the exact strain of bacteria and the best medicine to use for it, Max was released from the hospital and sent home to start his course of strong antibiotics. However, within 30 minutes of being home, he had to go back to the hospital via ambulance before even receiving his first dose. Due to several reasons, they weren't able to start him on the antibiotics at this time either... Instead, he remained in the hospital several more days and then was released again. This time, we got a call from the pharmacy telling us not to give him the prescribed antibiotics because they had been recalled globally due to contamination. "Man, you guys can't catch a break can you?" they said... So, we had to wait a couple more days for them to tell us what alternate medicine could be used in its place which ended up being even more expensive than the first one, this one being about $1,000 a day! This was on Christmas Eve and I got sooo stressed out and discouraged about it all!! But then God... I talked to one of our Dr.s and he said he would make some calls and look into things for us. Later that day he called back and told us the amazing news that he didn't think Max needed to take the strong antibiotics at this time after all as the most recent labs seemed to reflect that for now, the infection in the blood (which we were most concerned about) had resolved with the other medicine. Talk about a huge relief and blessing! We were thrilled!!!
So, we have adjusted to original goal of $8,200 to $4,600 which is the amount donated as of today. This will be more than enough to cover several months expenses of the medical supplies needed for Max's dressing changes and other medical expenses based on what we know today. Of course, as we have learned through this process, things are always changing and we don't know what the future holds but we are extremely thankful for the way you have stood in the gap for us through encouragement, prayers, financial, and practical help. We are truly blessed to have all of you as friends!
Organizer and beneficiary
Tania Pacheco
Organizer
Dallas, GA
Valerie Frazier
Beneficiary