Steven West Medical Recovery Fund

Steven and I returned from a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean on January 22nd. Shortly thereafter Steven became ill with stomach issues and could not seem to shake it on his own. He went to his primary care doctor; he tested his blood, put him on antibiotics, and sent him home. He had lost about ten pounds from the time he returned from the cruise. A week later, another trip to the doctor and a change of antibiotics. He still was not getting better. I had not seen him since we returned from the cruise but was in contact with him to make sure he was taking care of himself. It had been two weeks. The 4th of February brought Superbowl Sunday, which happens to be a tradition for us to watch it together at Blaine and Danny’s. Steven was very weak, very thin and very quiet. As, you know that is just not Steven. He is very passionate about his sports. Danny, Blaine and I talked about his weight loss and his physical appearance. We all talked about it to him. He had told us of a third round of blood work set up for Wednesday the 8th of February and a follow-up with his primary care doctor on Thursday the 9th. The doctor had ordered an x-ray of his chest, as he was having difficulties breathing as well as the ongoing stomach issues and was given another change of antibiotics at his third visit. Steven called that night, the bloodwork came back negative on everything tested and with no results about the chest x-ray. Friday brought a call to me for help. For the first time, I realized how very sick he was. I cried at the sight of him. He was so weak; he could not stand or move around for any length of time. I told him, if he did not perk up after three doses of the new antibiotics that we needed to discuss what we were going to do to get him healthy. Saturday came and he was perking up. A phone call from his friend Kris came in and we all discussed what our game plan would be, if there was not any change in his health. He watched the Syracuse game with interest, lots of verbal commentary, took a nap after, and he stayed up late and watched TV. I let him sleep in on Sunday. Once he awoke, he was having a difficult time breathing and getting comfortable enough to be able to breathe. I called Kris and Danny, we all decided it was time to take him to Upstate University in Syracuse. We arrived at 1:30pm. He was examined within 15 minutes and had a bed in the ER within 30 minutes. He was immediately set up with IV’s as he was so dehydrated and weak. Very low blood pressure and elevated heart rate, ensured he was not going anywhere. Kim and Pete came to check in, while a stream of doctor’s and residents came and went. Antibiotics were added to the IV’s. Bloodwork, Xrays, cat scans and a hundred different diagnosis were given. At long last he was assigned to room at 10:30pm. We all knew he was in good hands and was exactly where he needed to be. The scans showed three abscesses in the liver. A very large one and two smaller. This made his liver very enlarged. It pushed fluid up in between his chest and his ribs, making it very difficult to breath. Still the IV’s, antibiotics, blood work, scans, and his doctors focusing on two different diagnosis, bacteria or a parasite, he started his journey to get this thing figured out. Marcia and Kim were able to visit keeping a very close eye on him. They decided to drain the largest abscess on Friday the 17th. Within the week, they decided to drain the other two. He now has three drains inserted into his liver to get the infection out. It took eleven days, they finally diagnosed the problem with Staph E. It had been brewing for a very long time. Yesterday the 5th of March was twenty one days in the hospital, with four weeks without pay. Disability papers were filled out shortly after he was admitted and rejected last week as information was left out of the application. It has since been refiled. As I write this, I’m not too sure how many more days it will be until he comes home. The three drains are still in his liver. I’m praying it’ll be soon. He will require an additional four week period of receiving antibiotics via IV to shake this staph infection. I’m as sure he will also need physical therapy as he has lost all of his muscle tone. This has quickly added up to over two months without a steady paycheck. With all the benefits held at Angles over the years, we really need to pull together and help our friend out in his time of need. Any amount that you are able to give will be much appreciated. Thank You from the bottom of our hearts.