Support for Jim Halbert

Hi, my name is Jodie Triplett and we are raising funds for a dear friend, Jim Halbert. Jim was in an accident on Highway 70 with a semi-truck that didn't see his vehicle and merged into his left quarter panel causing him to swing in front of semi-truck and flip his vehicle 4 times in July 2022. Due to the adrenaline, he was able to climb out of the vehicle in one piece. It wasn't until later he started having PTSD and issues with his back. He has been to many doctors who have diagnosed him with a total of 7 herniated discs in his back from the neck to lower back and have suggested back surgery. He has not been able to work since his accident. Being a union member, Jim has carried health insurance for himself and his family and was recently notified the insurance will discontinue as of November leaving him another expense without any income.

At the beginning of July 2023, Jim started complaining of stomach issues. On July 5th, he had blood drawn and his pancreas and liver enzymes were through the roof. After a few tests, they determined he had gallstones and needed his gallbladder out. On July 7th, he had surgery to remove the gallbladder and during the surgery, they noticed his bile duct was very thin not allowing fluid to pass through. They closed up the surgery and said they needed to do an ERCP to check for a gallstone in the bile duct. Later that afternoon they did the ERCO and didn't find a gallstone, they found a tumor pushing on the bile duct. They took samples for biopsy and installed 2 stints in different bile ducts. Before surgery, Jim was told 1 out of 6 people after the ERCP end up with pancreatitis due to the scope being so close to the pancreas and of course, Jim ended up with pancreatitis and had to stay in the hospital for 4 days. When released, Jim was instructed to be on a low-fat diet, no alcohol, no Mountain Dew and no cigarettes. Jim has done well with all the restrictions but can you imagine taking everything you enjoy away at the same time? It has been a rough couple of weeks. About a week after surgery he got the results back from the doctor and both came back negative. When the biopsy was done the doctor told them to not be surprised if the results were negative. In most cases the first biopsy is negative. They have scheduled MRI's of his lower abdomen on 8/5/2023. They are looking to see if there are signs of the tumor spreading. Jim had the MRI's done and they were inconclusive. This past week Jim started feeling bad again and was turning jaundiced. Went to his primary doctor and they drew more blood. Found his enzyme levels were sky-high again in the liver and pancreas. Went in for another ERCP and ultrasound on Friday, August 18th. They found the plastic stent that was put in 6 weeks ago was clogged. Removed the plastic stent and put a bigger metal stent in its place. The doctor also used a special pair of spy glasses during the procedure and was able to get a better sample of the tumor, pancreas and lymph node. Hoping to get the results middle of the week. They let him go home Friday evening but Leslie had to take him back to the hospital at 2:30 Saturday morning. He had test run and got into a room around 8:30 a.m. They determined he had pancreatitis again. They are not allowing him to eat or drink anything at this time and will probably spend a few days in the hospital. Jim came home from the hospital on 8/21/2023. Still don't have any definite results. Heard by text from Dr. Friday, 8/25 that he was going to send the biopsy results to another pathologist. Still haven't heard anything. Jim has another appointment on Thursday, 8/31/2023 at Washington University for a consultation. I will keep you updated as more results come in.

Please understand no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe account.

Thank you for listening to our story. We hope you find it in your heart to donate to this worthy cause.