Day 3 after Surgery

Matt sitting in a chair


Nurse Abbie and Tech Solang


The Doctor came in and said his white count was up. They are watching for infection. Probably why he had slight temperature yesterday afternoon. They wanted Matt to sit in a chair today to move things around. Nurse Abbie came in to see how Matt was doing and to check on him.

Getting out of bed was a chore but felt good. Getting back into bed was a little hard but he did it no problem. He can chew on some ice chips today. They have him on TPN for his food.

Surgery Map

Here is a drawing that Dr. Sugarbaker drew. All the black nodules (black spot drawing) are possible cancer nodules. There is 10 of them on the upper left of his colon. Dr. Sugarbaker took all them and sent them to pathology. The lower ones he said were tricky to get to but was very glad it was him to do the surgery. The one in his colon at the point where he first had his surgery was not golf ball size like we were first told. The tumor was the size of a marble. Dr. Sugarbaker stated he got everything out. He was very happy to see so little. Last year he had several thousand the size of a pin head that he took out and hundreds the size of a bean that he took out. This time he had a total of only 20 and hopefully there are no more!!

I tried to reproduce his picture.

Thank you for all your continued prayers.

Second Day after Surgery

Matt still does not feel the best. Got sick this morning. He had a sponge bath but didn't have the energy to sit in a chair yet. His vital signs and temperature are all good.

It is snowing here in Washington DC. They are expecting 6 inches. All the nurse and other worker are all worried. The hospital might say everyone working has to stay. That's what they do in snow storms. Workers are hoping they can go home.

Praying that Matt starts to feel better.

Out of ICU!

Matt is out of ICU and in his own room. He is feeling pretty good. He is very tired.
Some of the nurses here remember Matt from last year! They are requesting to be able to take care of him! Matt charms them all! (lol) They said that Matt would be out of here 8-12 days. Matt plans on getting out of here in 8 days of course!

Thank you for all your continued prayers.

Surgery is Over!

Matt did well through surgery. Dr. Sugarbaker said it took 9 hours. He found cancer nodules in 3 different areas around his stomach, on his small intestine and on his colon. Dr. Sugarbaker was able to get them all out. He said he has about 1,000 stitches in him. Doctor Sugarbaker stated he had 1/1,000 of the cancer that he had last time. This lead Dr. Sugarbaker to believe the chemo treatment he did last year worked well.

Matt is in ICU for the evening and then he will go to a regular room later tonight or tomorrow morning. He is doing well. All his vital signs are stable. When he wakes up they will take the tube out of his mouth.

With all the areas Matt had his cancerous nodules Dr. Sugarbaker thought he did very well.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. May God continue to bless Matt in his recovery.

Sugery Update!

The nurse came out and explained to us they found 20 more nodules which they removed and decided to do the chemo wash. When it is over Dr. Sugarbaker will come out and explain to us where they found them. He still believes Matt will not have to have an ostomy bag. The nurse relayed that Dr. Sugarbaker stated it was very fortunate that we
brought him to Washington DC for the surgery due to these complications.

Thank you for all your continued thoughts and prayers.

Surgery in Washington DC

Surgery started this morning at 6:45. The nurse came out at 10:00 for our first report. The nurse reported to us the tumor in his colon was the size of a golf ball and Dr Sugarbaker got it out successfully without spreading it. He found four nodules in his peritoneal layering and took them out. So far he believes he will not have to do a Chemo wash and will not require an ostomy bag. Matt still has 3 hours of surgery to go. We are very thankful that God has blessed these gifted surgeons with the skill and knowledge to treat his disease and for the people and path that has brought us this successful surgery.

Please continue to pray for Matt through these next three hours.

Thank you for all your continued prayers and support.

Surgery Fast Approaching

We got a call from Dr. Sugarbaker's office yesterday to come to the hospital so Matt can have his CT Scan and then followed by Doctor Appointment. Matt had to take Gastrografin every hour for three hours so the CT Scan comes out good.

Matt had Ct scans done. The Doctor said that they look good. So hopefully when he goes in for surgery we don't find any surprises. We were at the hospital all day!

Went home and had a good meal for Matt.

We got up earlier this morning for Matt to do his admission testing. He had blood tests, EKG, and chest x-ray. Now we are in the hotel and Matt is doing his bowel prep. He has to clean his colon out for tomorrow's surgery.

Matt has to be at the admissions office at 5 am tomorrow. Surgery is set for 7 am. They say it might take 5 to 8 hours. I will try to keep you updated as we find out.

Thank you for all your support, calls and prayers. Please keep Matt in your prayers tonight to have his colon resection and hopefully they don't find anymore!

Surgery time

Monday and Tuesday will be Matt's last leisure days. Tuesday's lunch will be Matt's last meal for a while. After lunch it will be clear liquids. Wednesday will be busy. He is scheduled for CT scans in the morning, Doctor appointment in the afternoon, drink the stuff to empty his bowels and get admitted to the hospital.

Surgery will be 5:00am on Thursday, January 28.

Thank you to everyone for all your help with prayers. Matt and his family truly have been blessed with so many caring and loving family and friends. Please pray for the Matt and the surgeon to guide his hand during Matt's surgery.

Casey & Nate leaving

Yesterday came to fast. Matt was sad to see Casey and Nate have to go home. We had a leisure day together. We went to Joe and Kathryn's next door to Billy to watch football and have lots of really good food. We had lots of fun. We saw lots of deer in their back yard. Then it was time to take Nate and Casey to the airport. :(

Had fun with our visitors!!!

Nate and Matt at Hooters

Nate dancing at Hooter with the girls singing happy birthday to him!

Matt bowling at Dave's & Busters

Brian and Matt and Nate having a shoot out!

Matt won the shoot out with the most baskets.

Matt and Nate on our walk.

Matt & Casey on our walk.

Matt and Casey in go kart.

Nate in go kart

Matt wanted to drive go karts. Matt google go karts in Maryland and found two of them. We found one was open. Matt and Casey and Nate had fun. Nate won both races!! Then we went shopping in Rio, a small shopping village.

After the races we went home to eat supper and went out to Dave and Busters for some games.

There were so many people it was really warm in there. Tristen had lots of fun!

Then we finished the night and went to Hooters for some drinks and soda. Nate got to dance with the Hooter girls for his 18th birthday.

Guess who came to DC???

Guess who came to visit?? Casey and Nate surprised Matt this morning and flew to Washington DC. Matt was sleeping on the couch and when Casey and Nate came this morning Casey kissed Matt and he opened his eyes, took a double look. He looked around and couldn't believe his eyes!! Matt was so surprised and so very excited to see Casey and Nate!!1

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Dean Care called and said they would pay for the surgery but not for the chemo wash if we end up needing it. So surgery will be next Thursday, Jan 28, 2009. So if Matt needs the chemo wash it will be out of pocket. We are thankful that Dean Care paid for the Washington Surgery last year and are helping with it this year.

All our thoughts and prayers have been half answered. Very happy to get the surgery. Also that now we are having the surgery Federated said they would help pay for it. Federated has paid for the surgery's that we had at home and all the chemo we had at home. They also have been very good with all Matt's medications he has had in the past. The road blocks with Federated has been the out of network surgeries and chemo wash. We are thankful that they are helping this time also.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Phone Number

We know that this is late notice, but this may be our last shot before Dean Care makes their decision by 1 pm on Friday. We found the phone number for Dean Care's office location in Madison, WI. If you have the time, please feel free to contact them and let them know that Matt's surgery is necessary!
1-608-827-4374
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and ways to help us! Hopefully everything works out for Matt!

Walking the halls of Washington DC

Matt at the Smithsonian Natural History and Science

Matt in front of the State Capitol

Brian and Matt in front of the Washington Monument

Matt in front of Senator Herb Kohl's Office

Matt and Sara from Senator Russ Feingold office.

Matt and Nicole from Senator Herb Kohl office.

Matt and Congressman Tom Petri and Legislative Assistant Lindsay.

We got up this morning and headed to the capitol to talk to Tom Petri office. We filled out some forms and and explained to Lindsay what was happening with both insurance companies. Tom Petri showed up and listened to our story and said he would do whatever he could do to help. From there we went Senator Herb Kohl's office's and talked with Nicole to fill her in on what happen since we talked with her yesterday. Nicole got in contact with her offices in Wisconsin and talked with them. From there we went to Senator Russ Feingold and talked with Sara and explained what was all going on. They were going to make a few phone calls and see what was going on.

We explained our story and that we were looking for help to get our 2 insurance companies to help pay for Matt's surgery. We explained that we thought we pay into insurance each month and now that we need them they find every reason to not pay. We explained that Brian is a government worker at the Post Office and thought he had great insurance until something major happens. Then you find out you are not covered as much as you thought.

After a day of lots of walking around and going to different offices we decided to take Matt sight seeing. We went to the Washington Monument and tour through there. We got to take the elevator up to the top. Amazing how much you can see from up there. Then went took Matt to the Natural Museum of Art and History. Matt wanted to see some of the old bones of the dinosaurs. Then we went out to eat and went back to Billy's house.

We would really appreciate all your thoughts and prayers that Dean Care will use the most current CT scan from November where it shows how great Matt's insides look. Then they will

realize that the surgery from February 2009 worked really well. If anyone knows anyone at Dean Care office's or has any ideas to help please feel free to make a phone call or email to Dean Care. The grievance committee has until 1:00 Friday to make their decision. If they say "no" we will be on our way home to try our last appeal with an External source. If "yes" we will stay in Washington DC and he will have surgery January 27, next Wednesday. I hope that we will be able to stay so Matt will get his surgery with Dr. Sugarbaker.

No Surgery Today

We were unable to get Federated Mutual Insurance to commit to Matt's surgery and gives us an authorization code. They kept saying they will pay but we can't get in without the code and they will not give us one. How does that work? Therefore we were unable to check into the hospital. We are in the appeal process with Dean Care and will know by Friday at 1:00 at the latest if they are going to approve his surgery. Dean Care felt it was a surgery that can be done at home and the chemo wash if needed didn't help him enough so they will not pay for it again. Although Dr. Sugarbaker explain and Dr. Stoddard saw that Matt's insides were pink and healthy, so it did work. We just need to get the cancer spot out of his colon.

If Dean Care says no we will be heading home Friday and Matt will have surgery at Watertown Hospital. Our intent this whole time was for Matt to have the best care with a surgeon that knows his type of cancer. It is easily spreadable during surgery and you have to be very careful. Also our thought was in case when they opened Matt up and there was more in there that we did not know of Dr. Sugarbaker would know exactly what to do. Our Doctors at home are very good but not knowledgeable on Matt's cancer. We could ended up back out at Washington DC if they find more in there anyway. We thought this could save Matt one less surgery.

Thank you to everyone for your phone calls and help. Please continue to keep Matt in your prayers.

Visiting the Capitol with our Insurance Problem

Yesterday was amazing. Brian, Matt and I went to the Capitol to talk about our Insurance problem. It was amazing that we walked right into the senate building and right up to Herb Kohl's office. Senator Herb Kohl was due in later in the day but one of his Representatives took us in to the conference room and listen to our story. They explained to us they are working on bills to help avoid problems like what we have. They were very interested in our story. We were invited back today for a meeting. We left Senator Herb Kohl's office and went to Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner's office next. He was actually in his office. We also got to tell our story there with open ears. They gave us another name we plan to go visit today also. We plan to continue to tell our story, to who ever will help us so Matt can have his surgery tomorrow!

Insurance Problems!

Dean Care said they would not pay for a surgery out of network. Matt is in Washington DC tonight and has a doctor appointment tomorrow with Dr. Sugarbaker. We will make decisions on what to do next.

Thank you all our family and friends for your thoughts and well wishes and prayers. Tonight I ask that you say some prayers that when Doctor Sugarbaker talks to the Insurance company tomorrow they will change their minds and Matt will be able to have his surgery Thursday as planned!

Great Cruise!

Matt and Casey and her family got home late Friday night from their cruise in Key West and Cozumel. The weather was a little on the cool side but that did not stop them. On the cruise they saw a few comedian shows and some Musical Dance shows. During the day they had bingo, a casino and lots and lots of food! Matt tried his hand a black jack and lost! He had enough of that!

They got off the boat first at Key West. They had a tour of the island. They went shopping in Key West for a while and then back on the boat. The next stop was Cozumel. When they got of the boat they went sight seeing and shopping. Matt had fun bargaining with the locals! That was weather the best day. The weather hit 70 and it was great to see the Sun!

Then back on the boat. The last day on the boat they allow 16 poeple to have a tour of the ship. Jerry, Ryan and Matt sign up to tour the ship! Matt couldn't believe how big the ship was and

they also got to met the Captain.

Then back to Florida and on the plane back to Wisconsin. Matt had so much fun on his Cruise!!

On our way!

Matt and his parents head out today for Washington DC. They will keep the blog updated when they get there! Matt is planning for surgery on Thursday, the 21st and will have some scans and blood tests the days before.

Please keep Matt in your prayers for safe travels and through his surgery!

Insurance Companys

Federated Insurance company has taken back their decision to pay for Matt's surgery. Papers were filled out for Dean Care to cover the surgery unfortunately the Doctor that reviews them is
out of state. He will come in on Saturday to review the paperwork for Matt. They will call us
Monday morning with their decision.

We are still heading to Washington DC on Sunday and pray that Monday morning Dean Care calls us with good news.

Please help us to pray for guidance for the surgeon and for the insurance company to help cover this surgery.

Thank you to all our family and friends for their thoughts and prayers.

Prayers are needed!

Prayers are needed for Dean Care Insurance company to hopefully come through again! Federated Mutual Insurance company has change their mines and will not pay for the surgery or for the chemo wash if needed. We have all the paperwork into Dean Care and are waiting for the authorization for surgery. They said we should hear by Thursday.

I don't understand how an Insurance company can call and say they are approving it and send a letter with authorization and the next day call up and tell the Doctor they have changed their minds and are not approving it!

Please help us prayer for the Medical Director of Dean to approve this surgery again for Matt!

Thank you to everyone for all your support and prayers!

Insurance

We have been working on trying to get the insurance company to pay for surgery in Washington DC. Matt's insurance will pay for the surgery this time but continues to say they will not pay for the Heated chemo treatment during surgery if Matt needs it this time.

Dr Sugarbaker said we will not know until surgery. Hopefully when they take the tumor out of his colon they don't find anything else. If he does find cancer nodules in his abdomen or pelvic region, the Doctor will take the cancer out and do the heated chemo treatment.

We now are turning in all the paperwork to his secondary insurance company again to have them cover the heated treatment, like they did before! We are waiting for decision next week. Please help us pray for the insurance company to agree to help if needed.

Matt and Casey's family leave this morning for their cruise to the Bahamas. They will return on

Friday night. I hope they have great weather and a safe fun trip for the Hepp family and Matt.

Please if you can continue to help pray for a safe trip to Washington DC and for Matt's surgery. Pray for the surgeons skilled hands and that they don't find anymore cancer! Thank you for your surpport and kind words and prays for our family.