After 3 years of searching for a diagnosis, in May of 2006, I was finally given one. Chronic Pancreatitis. I had already done a lot of research on Pancreatic disorders since we knew that's where all of my problems began. After exhausting all of the doctor's knowledge in my hometown of Canton, Ohio, my journey led me to University Hospitals in Cleveland. There they took my spleen out thinking that a blood clot in my splenic vein was the cause of a lot of my pain, and they also repaired 2 ventral hernias. Unfortunately the pain was not gone after recovering from the surgery.

Next my search led me to the Pancreatic Disease Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. I met with a surgeon there in September 2006. He told me that I did the right thing in coming to him and that I had just made the first step in becoming pain free. There they do a surgery called a Total Pancreatectomy with Autologus Islet Cell Transplant. In this surgery they completely remove your pancreas and harvest cells out of it called Islets. These cells are responsible for insulin production. Once they harvest these cells they transplant them back into your liver where they continue on as if they are still in the pancreas. Then without a pancreas, most or all of the pain that was stemming from pancreatitis is gone! This is a very expensive surgery and insurance companies have to go through an approval process where they look at medical records and talk to specialists to determine how much of the surgery they will cover, if any. Unfortunately while we were waiting for insurance approval the doctors in Cincinnati did some pre-testing on me. This included a CT scan and Liver Biopsy. The results of the liver biopsy said that I have some mild chronic hepatitis (not the infectious kind), and some portal fibrosis. After hearing this, the docs in Cincinnati said I was no longer a candidate for the surgery. They then began passing me back and forth from doctor to doctor.

During all of this my pain continued to worsen. With each "episode" or flare up of my pancreatitis the pain and nausea/vomiting gets worse and it takes me longer to recover. At this point my pain was reaching a 10 on a 1-10 pain scale daily. The episodes were also becoming more frequent and causing more hospitalizations.

Then, I finally decided I needed to get a second opinion. So, I made an appointment with a transplant surgeon in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dr. Sutherland. I had heard of him numerous times from other pancreatitis sufferers on a support message board I belong to online. I had heard nothing but great things about him. During my first appointment, Dr. Sutherland said that I was a candidate for the surgery, and he actually recommended it! I can't explain how much better he made me feel! He thought that this was my best chance at having a "normal" life again. To be narcotic free, and get rid of most or all of the pain, to be able to eat again, to make plans again, TO HAVE A LIFE!!!

So, now we have the daunting task of obtaining insurance approval for the surgery and having it out of state. The financial advisor assigned to my case in Minneapolis informed me that they usually require an insurance company to commit to paying 85% of the surgery. The rest, I will be responsible for. Plus, if the insurance company comes back and only commits to 75 or 80%, I will be responsible for the remaining amount, and UP FRONT! So in effort to raise money for this surgery, I have begun selling on EBAY. All proceeds from my EBAY auctions will be going towards my surgery. Also I have an account with PAYPAL where individuals can make a donation to go towards the surgery. I will be putting links to both of those sites on this page. I am still learning how to do this, so please bare with me. I will also be adding several pages of information about the surgery and about the disease itself, chronic pancreatitis, so anyone who wishes to can learn more about it before making a donation.

Again, I want to express my deepest gratitude to anyone who can find it in their heart to donate towards my surgery. We are not yet aware of the amount of money we will have to come up with in addition to what my health insurance company is going to pay for the surgery. We hope to know by the end of the week what percentage United Health Care is going to pay. So, thank you to all in advance!!!