Supporting Superman "Brian"
Donation protected
People have been asking how they can help and/or want to send money to pass on to Brian. Therefore, we decided to start this page so people can directly contribute to the medical costs, as well as the enormous travel expenses to Phoenix, such as plane tickets, rental car, and now gas to and from Phoenix and then lodging for their extended six to seven week stay this summer. Plus, they still have all of the expenses at home to pay for even though they are not there.
To learn more about Brian's story, below is the first journal entry made by his wife, Jody, on their Caringbridge page, which can be found along with updates on his journey here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brianhergott
Brian has always been blessed with good health and a good attitude. In the 32 years we have been married, he hasn't been sick very often and never with anything serious so when he went to bed one night in early February and woke up in the middle of the night with neck pain that kept him from sleeping and a golf ball size lymph node in his neck, it was time to call the Dr. We were in Nebraska to meet our brand new granddaughter Andi so he did a virtual appointment with a Dr in Colorado.
The Dr thought it was an infection although he didn't have any other symptoms like a sore throat, ear ache, tooth pain etc. They put him on a Z-pack (antibiotic) and said to follow up with his GP if the lymph node was still large after a few weeks.
He had his yearly blood work done in early March and after it was received, he scheduled his annual physical with his Dr. His blood work looked really good with nothing alarming to report. He still had a lot of neck pain and his lymph node size had not changed. The Dr decided to try another round of antibiotics to see if it was all from a stubborn infection somewhere in his body.
A few short days later Brian woke up with a very large, solid lump in the side of his neck that didn't move. He called the Dr again who then scheduled an ultrasound of his neck and he had the ultrasound a few days later. We waited (this has become our life...tests and waiting) for the results and when we got them back, they were suspecting Medullary Thyroid Cancer and the Dr ordered a biopsy of his Thyroid and Lymph nodes.
We had to wait a very long week to get in for the biopsy which was on April 1st. We had the results the very next day that it was in deed the C word. He had cancer in his thyroid with a very large mass (tumor) and the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes.
The Dr called and wanted Brian to get blood work done right away to see the amount of calcitonin in his system to verify that the diagnosis was correct for Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. If his calcitonin level was above 100, that would be considered extremely high and would verify the diagnosis. Brian's calcitonin level came in at 9259...not good news. That level of calcitonin indicates a large amount of cancer in his neck including the thyroid and lymph nodes.
After receiving the blood work results, we decided not to mess around with local Dr's and to go right to the best facility we knew of after a friend had to have a tricky thyroid removal surgery a few years ago and raved about the care she received at Mayo in Phoenix.
We will be arriving in Phoenix on April 17th, have Covid tests on April 18th and meet with the Mayo team on April 20th to go over the tests and results already completed in Colorado.
We are anticipating a large battery of tests right away along with a review of the results and hopefully surgery while we are there to remove his thyroid, the tumor in his neck and the cancerous lymph nodes. We will be updating this site as we get the recommendations from the team at Mayo, test results and his surgery schedule. We will be staying at the Residence Inn right next to the hospital to make our life a little easier.
I don't think cancer knew what it was doing when it decided to pick on Brian. He is the most physically and emotionally strong person I know and he will definitely do some butt kicking during this journey!!
Thank you all very much for the care, concern, prayers and positive messages as we go on this journey.
To learn more about Brian's story, below is the first journal entry made by his wife, Jody, on their Caringbridge page, which can be found along with updates on his journey here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brianhergott
Brian has always been blessed with good health and a good attitude. In the 32 years we have been married, he hasn't been sick very often and never with anything serious so when he went to bed one night in early February and woke up in the middle of the night with neck pain that kept him from sleeping and a golf ball size lymph node in his neck, it was time to call the Dr. We were in Nebraska to meet our brand new granddaughter Andi so he did a virtual appointment with a Dr in Colorado.
The Dr thought it was an infection although he didn't have any other symptoms like a sore throat, ear ache, tooth pain etc. They put him on a Z-pack (antibiotic) and said to follow up with his GP if the lymph node was still large after a few weeks.
He had his yearly blood work done in early March and after it was received, he scheduled his annual physical with his Dr. His blood work looked really good with nothing alarming to report. He still had a lot of neck pain and his lymph node size had not changed. The Dr decided to try another round of antibiotics to see if it was all from a stubborn infection somewhere in his body.
A few short days later Brian woke up with a very large, solid lump in the side of his neck that didn't move. He called the Dr again who then scheduled an ultrasound of his neck and he had the ultrasound a few days later. We waited (this has become our life...tests and waiting) for the results and when we got them back, they were suspecting Medullary Thyroid Cancer and the Dr ordered a biopsy of his Thyroid and Lymph nodes.
We had to wait a very long week to get in for the biopsy which was on April 1st. We had the results the very next day that it was in deed the C word. He had cancer in his thyroid with a very large mass (tumor) and the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes.
The Dr called and wanted Brian to get blood work done right away to see the amount of calcitonin in his system to verify that the diagnosis was correct for Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. If his calcitonin level was above 100, that would be considered extremely high and would verify the diagnosis. Brian's calcitonin level came in at 9259...not good news. That level of calcitonin indicates a large amount of cancer in his neck including the thyroid and lymph nodes.
After receiving the blood work results, we decided not to mess around with local Dr's and to go right to the best facility we knew of after a friend had to have a tricky thyroid removal surgery a few years ago and raved about the care she received at Mayo in Phoenix.
We will be arriving in Phoenix on April 17th, have Covid tests on April 18th and meet with the Mayo team on April 20th to go over the tests and results already completed in Colorado.
We are anticipating a large battery of tests right away along with a review of the results and hopefully surgery while we are there to remove his thyroid, the tumor in his neck and the cancerous lymph nodes. We will be updating this site as we get the recommendations from the team at Mayo, test results and his surgery schedule. We will be staying at the Residence Inn right next to the hospital to make our life a little easier.
I don't think cancer knew what it was doing when it decided to pick on Brian. He is the most physically and emotionally strong person I know and he will definitely do some butt kicking during this journey!!
Thank you all very much for the care, concern, prayers and positive messages as we go on this journey.
Organizer and beneficiary
Janelle Coady
Organizer
Roca, NE
Brian Hergott
Beneficiary