Cameron Riegel

First post: Jan 26, 2017 Latest post: Jan 30, 2018
(We are using this site as a way to keep people informed about Cameron's journey. After the fact we noticed the request for donations in order to leave a comment. These donations are going to keep this website going, NOT to Cameron's care. We're looking for another way for people to communicate their well wishes to Cameron that doesn't ask for money! We will continue to use this site to write about his fight and to keep you informed... Will update as soon as we figure this out. Thank you again for all of your well wishes, he's got this! )

This is now reformatted to show the latest entry first. If you are visiting for the FIRST time, start at the BOTTOM. Updates are now being entered in the "Journal" section.

Sunday, January 29: "Hurry Up and Wait" is what Cameron is going through right now. Not much happens on the weekends at a hospital and today we found out that he won't start any type of treatment for up to 5 weeks. He needs to fully recover from his surgery before bombarding his body with chemicals that will compromise his immune system. While this is frustrating because we want to get him going on something, we need to know what type of cancer he has. Hopkins will take research information on Cameron's tissue from the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax. Previously we were told that Hopkins needed to do their own pathology on his cells and wouldn't even look at the results from Halifax. Tomorrow (Monday, Jan 30) should be a good day for information. The attending Dr's and Pathology staff will be back, and hopefully we'll find out if Hopkins received Cam's tissue samples so they can begin their own testing. The tissue samples need to be "stained" to react and show what type of cancer he has. This takes time but some react quicker than others so hopefully this week certain cancers will be "crossed off the list". Good news: Cameron is gradually moving up the ladder for types of food he can eat. Today he had cream of potato soup and chocolate pudding, which was great for him. He has a tube coming out of his stomach because of a partial blockage in his bowel. Today, the Dr's installed a valve on the stomach tube which allows Cameron to open and close it at his discretion. It will remain closed so the nutrients in what he's ingesting will be absorbed into his system and he can begin to gain back some weight. He's lost about 25 lbs over the past 3 months. Tuesday we should know if he'll be able to come home rather than stay in the hospital.

Saturday, January 28: Cameron is now on a clear liquid diet which, to him, is like eating a cheese burger since he's been on water and limited gatorade for the past week. Unfortunately, the bureaucracy at Hopkins has slowed the transportation of Cam's tissue samples, and, even if they get here Monday, January 30, Hopkins will start all over with their own testing to figure out what type of cancer he has. This could take another week. We're trying to have the testing rushed as much as possible but there's only so much we can do. The only good news about this is they may send him home early next week, rather than sit in a hospital bed. In light of this, please don't send anything to his room until we know more. You can send cards to our houses and we'll get them to him. Cacky's address is 15400 Duncan Hill Rd, Sparks, MD 21152. Dave's is 304 Melancthon Ave, Lutherville, MD 21093. Currently Cam is doing pretty well. He has a device that allows him to administer his own pain medication. He's able to take showers and will get a much needed haircut today! The outpouring of support, well wishes and prayers has been overwhelming. We have people offering help that we've never met before. Thank-you for every offer but at this time we really don't need much because we don't know what's going to happen, plus, we have people at our houses that can keep things moving.

Thursday, January 26: Currently we have a medical flight scheduled for today. Cacky will fly with Cameron and a nurse and paramedic will be on board. Coordinating the transfer from Canadian insurance to US insurance is presenting issues but we feel confident that this will be worked out on time. Still don't know what type of cancer. I'll drive back and stop at my sister Kim's in NH to break up the trip.

Cameron should be at Hopkins around 9 o'clock tonight!
Cameron has already landed at BWI and is in route to Hopkins.

Wednesday, January 25: We've been through a roller coaster of decisions, possible prognosis and options for his care. We reached out to friends with medical contacts and the flood gates opened with many offers of assistance at both Sloan Kettering in NYC and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Given the rapid growth of the Cancer and an uncertain future we decided to get him to Hopkins so it will be easier to spend time and care for him, plus allow friends and family support to his needs.

Sunday, January 22nd, Cacky and I received word that Cameron was in the hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For those of you who don't know,
Cameron is a 2nd year student at Dalhousie University and is majoring in history. With Cameron's symptoms, the hospital staff determined
he had a blockage in his bowel and needed surgery. Cacky and I left Baltimore immediately and due to travel issues we decided to drive the
entire way. We received a call from the surgeon who operated on Cameron and pulled over to speak with him. He told us that they encountered cancer in Cameron's abdomen and he will need aggressive treatment immediately. Shocked, confused and scared we continued through the night and got to the hospital about noon Monday. We asked the staff to not tell him what was going on as we wanted to be with him when he
found out.

We told Cameron he has Cancer and it's serious. At first I think he thought we were kidding and I told him we were not.

As you can imagine, he was shocked to hear this but we told him we are going to fight this with everything there is and he agreed.

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