Terry Erickson's medical costs

I am raising money to help with my brother-in-law Terry Erickson's medical costs.

In September,2023 Terry started having some general symptoms: cough, fatigue, weakness, weight loss, and back pain. He saw his PCP multiple times, went to urgent care, had multiple labs and outpatient imaging, but they couldn't identify the cause for his symptoms. On 10/18/23, Terry saw his PCP again and had more labs drawn. At 8:00 that night, Terry received a call from his PCP instructing him to go to the ER to be admitted. His fasting blood glucose was over 300, his white blood cells were elevated (suggesting infection), and his hemoglobin had dropped by 2 full points in 2 weeks.

Terry was admitted to the ICU for the first time that night. He was diagnosed with diabetes, and was started on IV antibiotics because it was believed he had pneumonia. Imaging showed nodules in his lungs and on his liver. He underwent a bronchoscopy to biopsy the pulmonary nodules, which came back negative for cancer. His hemoglobin continued to drop. Upper and lower GIs showed no evidence of a GI bleed to account for the drop in hemoglobin. He was not responding to the antibiotics and his oxygen levels were dropping, so he was started on oxygen. He mentioned having chickens, and his medical staff thought his cough may be due to a fungal infection from the chickens. He was given IV antifungal medication and had a modest decrease in white blood cell count, so that was the working diagnosis for his cough. He was still having back pain, so a CT was done, followed by an MRI. MRI report said findings were suggestive of lymphoma or metastasis. Terry then had a bone marrow biopsy. No oncologist rounded at this hospital, so Terry was discharged home with an appointment to follow up outpatient with oncology 2 weeks later. He had been inpatient for 12 days.

At home, Terry continued to decline. A week after being discharged, Terry was back in the ER with increasing confusion, a worsening of weakness, increase in back pain, and extreme fatigue. His oxygen levels had dropped again and he was again started on oxygen. Imaging was done again, and he was found to have a pathological fracture in his spine, and a mass on his liver and his lung. These findings were new in just 2 weeks. The bone marrow biopsy had provided no input, as a viable sample was not obtained. His lymph nodes were swollen, so he underwent a surgical biopsy of the lymph nodes. Pathologist said it was Hodgkins lymphoma. Surgeon said Terry would be started on medication right away, but this did not happen. Terry’s condition continued to worsen. He required blood transfusions and more and more oxygen (up to 8 liters!) Terry became more lethargic and confused, and he developed generalized swelling. He was started on an IV diuretic. Eventually his care team opted to transfer Terry to a higher level of care at UW. He was transported by helicopter.

Once at UW, Terry was found to be in kidney failure and was started on continuous dialysis. He was again admitted to the ICU. His lungs were full of fluids, so a chest tube was placed, pulling about 2 liters of fluid off his lungs in 2 days. He was in respiratory distress, so he was sedated and intubated. A nasogastric tube was placed, and he received tube feedings through this. He required multiple blood transfusions, as his hemoglobin kept dropping. His care team decided that another biopsy was needed, and a different diagnosis was found: anaplastic T cell lymphoma. Because this is an aggressive type of cancer, his care team decided he needed to start chemotherapy immediately, although they only gave him a 20% chance of surviving this treatment.

Terry surprised his care team and not only survived, but improved! With the chest tube in place, his oxygen needs decreased. He was extubated and continued to improve. A week after starting dialysis, his kidney function improved and dialysis was stopped. He slowly started to eat, but not enough to sustain him, so a gastrostomy tube was placed for him to receive his tube feedings at home. He received his 2nd round of chemo while still admitted, and started physical therapy. After a month at UW, Terry finally went home. He continues to have PT and is still receiving chemotherapy.

After close to 2 months inpatient (including spending his birthday and Thanksgiving in the hospital), Terry accumulated insurmountable medical bills, including an $85,000 helicopter ride (yes, you read that right). Even after insurance pays, he will be left with astronomical bills. The calendar year has restarted, and with it, Terry’s out of pocket portion of his medical bills.