Jeff and Deb Longwell are high school sweethearts; Jeff even asked Deb to marry him after graduating high school. Surprisingly, Deb said, "no." Thirty-seven years later they reconnected and were married in June of 2013. As in their wedding vows, they certainly have been there for one another "in sickness and in health."
In February 2015, Jeff noticed bleeding in his stool and saw his family doctor. His family doctor referred him to a general surgeon to have a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy revealed that Jeff had colon cancer.
On April 14, 2015, Jeff had part of his colon removed and a colostomy bag placed. Then Jeff underwent chemo and radiation. In June of 2016, Jeff was cancer free! On July 14th, 2016, Jeff had his colostomy bag reversed.
Now, Jeff has routine check ups every 6 months and is on the mend!
Deb has been Jeff's main support through it all, while she has been battling debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. For over 20 years, Deb has had multiple flareups of rheumatoid arthritis making it very difficult for her to perform simple, everyday tasks.
Toward the end of her 20 year career as a unit clerk at Defiance Regional Hospital, Deb felt something just wasn't right. Over Thanksgiving in 2016, Deb had a sore throat and earache. After three weeks of trying different antibiotics, her symptoms didn't improve. Deb knew she had to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist. She made an appointment for evaluation, and within five days she was scheduled to have the procedure that would inform her of the tough journey she had ahead of her.
On January 18, 2017, Deb was diagnosed with throat cancer.
Deb has had many procedures to prepare for chemo and radiation treatments. In order to get necessary nutrients for healing and strength, she has had a feeding tube placed. Deb has had a implantable chest port placed to receive her chemo medication. Deb had oral surgery to remove 5 teeth so she could receive her radiation treatments, which was $1600 of unexpected cost.
Deb is currently receiving weekly chemo treatments at Defiance Regional oncology and travels to Lima for radiation treatments five days a week.
As you can see, Jeff and Deb truly have been there for one another. We have developed this website in order to provide updates on Deb's progress.
Jeff and Deb appreciate all your prayers and support. We will do our very best to keep you all informed week to week. If you would lime to donate to help with their expenses please visit:
https://www.youcaring.com/debandjefflongwell-800482 Please share this link with family and friends😊
