Jake Froehle

Welcome to Jake's CaringBridge site. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.

As you may know, Jake has struggled with Crohn's disease and liver disease off and on throughout much of his life.  (Though you may not know this because he never complains about it.)  Several weeks ago Jake was admitted to the hospital with what he and doctors thought was Crohn's-related pain, and he was released after a short stay.   Soon after returning home, Jake started experiencing  a distended abdomen which was determined to be ascites (the accumulation of protein-containing fluid in the abdomen, and not uncommon in Crohn's patients), and he found himself back in the hospital a couple more times to address it.  

Unfortunately, the acscites and the pain did not subside as expected and on February 28, Jake was admitted to the hospital again for an endoscopy to explore what else was happening.  During they scope, the doctor removed gall stones and inserted a stent in Jake's gall bladder to help it drain and we were hopeful this would bring relief.  The fluid, however, did not drain and it became clear there was more to this bout than Crohn's disease and gall stones.  

Additional testing revealed that Jake has considerable liver scarring which is not always a complication of Crohn's, but it can be (and it does not have obvious symptoms).  Unfortunately, the liver scarring  is very serious and its impact has extended to include Jake's kidneys.  Both his liver and his kidneys are failing.  

We often hear about successful organ transplants so we hoped that would be an option, but for a number of reasons (especially the severity of the underlying Crohn's disease and liver disease), a transplant is not a viable option.  Jake is now working with a primary doctor, a liver doctor, and a kidney doctor and this team has reached out to Mayo Clinic, the U of MN, etc. to ensure all options are being considered.  Unfortunately, there is not an encouraging path forward.

Jake's vitals are stable, he is physically strong, and his positive attitude and terrific sense of humor are in tact so it's very hard to comprehend how sick he is.  Doctors and nurses are amazed by his good spirits, but those who know him know that's just Jake.   If you want to visit, he is at HCMC (green wing, level 3, room 241).  We are praying for a miracle, and appreciate your love and support.