Mike Soprs medical bills

I am Mike's wife. It has been a nightmare journey to this point. On March 4th, I had to take Mike to the emergency room for abdominal pain. They did tests and said he was having a pancreatitis flare and was given pain medication and three more pain pills to take home. On Monday, the 7th of March, I had to take him back to the emergency room, but I took him to UCHealth because all the specialists that could possibly help him were located. He was admitted, given pain management, and sent home with pain medication the next day. He was discharged with a leg full of fluid which indicates a DVT, but no one checked even after complaining about it hurting and being twice the size of his other leg. He had pain under control in his abdomen due to the medication but couldn’t walk. We thought the swelling was because his ankle had been hurt before all of this started, so we waited for the swelling to go down, and when it didn't, I took him to urgent care for the leg swelling on March 21. The nurse practitioner took one look and said you have a blood clot and must go straight to the emergency room. So back to Platte Valley Hospital we go. He checked in, and it was super busy, but because he told them it was a possible blood clot post-hospital stay, he was taken to ultrasound to verify and, low and behold, a DVT from his groin to his knee. He was bumped up past six other people and taken directly back to a room. The doctors consulted and did a CT scan to ensure it was not going into his abdomen. It was not, so he was given a blood thinner pill. Not a shot, a pill and a prescription for Xarelto $280 out of pocket on the spot, and sent home. All the while, his belly was filling up with fluid. The fluid was seen on the original CT scan on the 4th and also on the CT on the 7th with a significant change in the amount of fluid, but no one did or said anything. On March 30, he had a follow-up with his primary care doctor, and Mike told him he had been so weak and was getting more bloated and hadn't been able to work because he had no energy. He, at this time, has lost more than fifteen pounds since the first ER visit and pointed it out to the doctor. The Doctor then ordered another ultrasound of his abdomen, and that was on April 4th. The ultrasound showed a significant amount of fluid in his abdomen. I then began researching the ultrasound results, and it all led to it needing to be drained. The doctor said, and I quote, “ Overall, the ultrasound is encouraging. The inflammation around the pancreas appears to be improving compared to the CAT scan. Your liver is normal in appearance. Your gallbladder is normal. You still have a large amount of ascites(fluid) in your abdomen. This is probably the primary cause of abdominal discomfort.” There is no offer as to what should be done about the fluid, just that it's a large amount. I emailed him and asked him what he could do about this fluid. I said this is not normal. He said to wait and see if it started to go away. That is when I knew if I didn’t start to battle for him, he would die. I started finding specialists that I thought would be able to help. I found a hepatology clinic that could maybe help. So I called them. They gave me the fax for a reference, and I emailed that to the primary doctor and asked him to call me because Mike was so sick and weak he could barely even walk and had lost body mass but was gaining fluid every day. He sent the reference, and I called the hepatology clinic, and I had to beg them to get an appointment. I kept telling them this is why people die. Please, I am watching my husband die before my eyes. She said she would forward his chart to a doctor, and all she could do was set an appointment for May 3rd and put him on the cancellation list. She then called me later that day and had a cancellation for April 13th. But I am fighting for someone to believe me that Mike is sick and dying right in front of me all this time. She suggested that maybe interventional radiology may be able to guide me. Interventional radiology said it sounded like he needed a paracentesis procedure but would need an order for it to happen. So on the 6th of April, I took Mike into the doctor for the blood test the doctor ordered and told them a lie. I said that the hepatologist needed a paracentesis done with labs but needed the primary care to order it. I found that Platte Valley Could do it the next day. On April 7, they drained a gallon of fluid off of Mike's abdomen. Yes, A GALLON! He lost 14 more pounds!! When he was in the procedure, the primary doctor sent a referral to a hematologist because he may need an iron transfusion. I called the hematologist, and of course, I begged them to see him as soon as possible. They say it's not that urgent. I tell them I am watching my husband die in front of my eyes! Please help me!! She puts him on the cancel list. She called me later and said that she had spoken with the doctor. He doesn't think it is urgent, but because she told him how concerned I was, he will see Mike first thing in the morning of April 8th. So we go in, and Mike is super weak and in massive pain from the 14 pounds of fluid being removed. His blood pressure was super low, and the doctor came in and saw Mike and was like wow, you are wasting away. I am sending you to the Emergency room. I don't think you are in good shape at all. I will send orders down for blood work but go directly to the emergency room. So back to the Platte Valley ER. When we got there, they did another CT scan. Now that all that fluid was gone, it showed a whole different picture. He is so sick he is transferred to UC Health and put in the ICU!!! He was one night away from dying. Yes, that is what the ICU doctors said. Once at the ICU, another CT scan showed fluid around his lungs, and they partially collapsed. They determined he needed chest tubes on both sides to drain even more fluid off his lungs and test the fluid to determine where it is coming from. It turns out it is pancreatic fluid! He was septic from the toxic fluid! There is a pseudocyst around his pancreas, and it will continue to leak fluid unless it is addressed. So that is where we are now. Decisions on how to best proceed forward are being made with several specialists. I will have to be his full-time caretaker when he gets home, and it can take 6 to 9 months for recovery. He works for a small, independently owned business that does not have any FMLA, so we will be trying to find a way to pay all our regular bills on top of the medical bills that are quickly accumulating every day.