Support Steve's Medical Journey

Hello,

We are a group of family and friends reaching out for support and prayers for Steve and his wife Anji. Steve is 57 years old and dealing with some serious health issues as he is hospitalized in the ICU and on a ventilator. Anji hasn't been able to work due to much concern for Steve and being by his side every step of the way. Unfortunately, FMLA is unpaid time off. Steve will have a very long road to recovery ahead of him, so we hope that in this time of need, you might be able to help. We all know it's hard to ask for help, so since Anji won't ask, we feel the need to reach out for her.

Anji is very overwhelmed by the love and support they have received already. It is truly amazing and touching to see their army of people willing to help out with whatever they can. All donations will go directly to Anji to manage medical and living expenses while Steve goes through this very difficult time.

Notes from Anji regarding Steves Health

Steve's most recent health crisis began when he started having shortness of breath and feeling very weak. On 11/1/24, I took Steve to the ER. He received a chest x-ray, an ekg, bloodwork, and nasal swabs. He was admitted and learned over the next few days that he needed a pericardial window procedure to drain the fluid from the sac around his heart. He needed to be intubated for that procedure, which took place on 11/3/24. The week that followed was a rollercoaster as they continued removing the extra fluid off of him with 3 different types of dialysis. The goal was to be able to extubate, but he wasn't passing the breathing trials. Finally, on 11/9/24, things looked good, and he was extubated at 4p.m. and put on a bipap machine with a mask that helps blow air into the lungs. His BP was high, and oxygen was dropping. He started to struggle, and by 8p.m., they had to reintubate. He had FPE - Flash Pulmonary Edema, which is a condition that occurs when fluid builds up quickly in the air sacs of the lungs in his case was caused by high blood pressure. He would need to be on the ventilator a few more days until 11/12/24 when everything looked good and was extubated again at noon. Bipap mask on. Struggled again. HR and BP were crazy high. Reintubated at 6:30pm. No FPE this time, but the critical care doc came up with a theory of why this keeps happening. The doc learned of a benign tumor removed from the back of Steve's right lung around 25 years ago. This could be causing diaphragm paralysis on his right side, which means the muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities is not functioning properly, making it difficult to breathe. Past x-ray images are helping with the theory since Steve is unable to do the test to confirm a paralyzed diaphragm. So the doc has recommended a tracheostomy. A tracheostomy (trach) and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) are procedures that can be combined to help with long-term airway protection and enteral nutrition:

Tracheostomy

A surgical technique that provides long-term airway control by protecting against respiratory failure and upper airway secretions.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG)

A procedure that provides long-term enteral access by allowing for the delivery of nutrition, fluids, and medicine directly into the stomach. This is scheduled to happen on the morning of 11/20/24.

Once the Trach is placed, Steve will be going to a long term after care facility for a minimum of 4 weeks.