8 months ago Tim was trying to save his friends life by donating one of his kidneys to Jeff Moehrke. Tim and Jeff have been friends since 1986, 32 years of friendship. Jeff has had a rough medical history, and at this point his kidneys are working at 13%. Tim went through months of testing and obstacles to see if he was a canidate, which he was. Tim is the fifth person to go through this process and actually qualify. Due to their friendship & Tim wanting to help, he wasn’t getting cold feet, there wasn’t anything stopping him. “If you can save a life, do it, donate!” -Tim Tim went through his last set of tests, including a CAT scan. The radiologist noticed a gray patch near his abdomen. A week later Tim underwent surgery to remove his appendix, finding out that he had a rare case of Appendix cancer. The doctors decided that it wasn’t their specialty to remove the contaminated appendix, recommending he see a specialist. The tumor that had been on his appendix was estimated to have been there for two years. Tim never had any symptoms. After meeting with the specialist, he was scheduled to have a major surgery. Tim underwent a 7-8 hour surgery, including Hipec (Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy), on May 16th at 7:30am at the University of Minnesota. Tim will be out of work for months for recovery. Anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated! This is truly a blessing in disguise.
Tim’s doctor just came and talked to us. He’s one of two doctors in Minnesota that specializes in this surgery that is why he is here and not Mayo. Tims surgery took 8 hours exactly with two hours of stitching him back up. Doctor said he took “a lottttt, more than expected of the nodules” which is the cancer that is attached to the inside of his stomach. He took his appendix, lots of nodules on the large part of right diaphragm, soft fatty tissue between the guts and muscle. They didn’t have to take any colon like he had originally thought. Words from the doctor: “he did great, he’s not done yet though, has a long ways to go, in the next 24 hours our main focus and worry is about bleeding, he didn’t have much bleeding but if late bleeding happens we will have to go back in. 2-4 days we are worried about the lungs and blood clots, and 4-7 days from now we worry about his eating and drinking . In 4 months he will be back for a ct scan”
Recovery lasted longer than expected , he is very tired and exhausted so we are letting him get rest. We didn’t get a chance to see him so we will be going to the hospital in the morning. -9:00pm
10:00 am Thursday morning.... he’s up and walking! he’s happy to see everyone and says thanks for all the wonderful prayers and wishes! He has a long road to recovery yet!
7:30 Thursday night.... Tim walked laps around his floor! One with his walker and one without! Hes very determined!
11:00 am Friday morning... He’s up and walking laps again, bending and even climbing stairs! He takes his daily walks about 3-4 times a day!
Saturday May 19th... Tim has had a rough day. He’s been relaxing all day. The medication they are giving him is making him very sick. He will be up and walking a round again tomorrow!
Monday May 21st... Sorry everyone we didn’t get an update out there yesterday we had a long day. Tim’s doctor came in and checked out everything noticing that he’s bloated and swollen. They aren’t sure why yet. Tim finally had has first actual meal last night since Tuesday the 15th. He is still refusing his pain meds due to the fact that they are making him incredibly sick. He is up and walking again and showering by himself. The doctor had said this morning that if everything keeps going at a good rate he MIGHT be able to come home tomorrow! He is still very upset and sad about the whole deal and doesn’t like to be alone.. We are hoping to see him at home tomorrow!
May 22nd... he’s on his way home! ❤️
June 3rd... Tim left for the U of M on friday by ambulance due to pneumonia in his right lung and and infection about the size of a cantaloupe where he was sewn up. The doctors had made a few little cuts to let it drain out. He is now taking antibiotics daily.
