Update 5: I saw dad on Sunday, got to hang with him and mom for a little while. He is hanging in there. Tuesday morning had us worried as his blood pressure dropped and he needed a blood transfusion. They are looking to see if he has an infection. They also put him on some medicine for low platelets. We were told that we should hear something about Virginia on Friday so keep praying please.
Update 3: Sorry for the late update, we been on a roller coaster of emotions. As I said previously Duke did deny him, for some questionable reasons, but the liver doctors say they are on our side. Explain that one. My mom called VCU a hospital in Virginia and was able to get a number for the doctors to exchange information. Duke is talking to VCU now, we had some great ICU doctors who was surprised by the denial and are pushing for my dad to go to VCU.
My mom spoke with Medicaid yesterday and got approval for transport and they claim they would cover the whole visit/operation. Which is amazing, but they haven’t accepted dad as of yet. There also seems to be some complications of there has to be a Dr at VCU with NC residency otherwise we would have to pay out of pocket. I’m still confused on that one. They say that would be the case for any out-of-state. We are hoping to get lucky just once and given a chance. We still have a long way to go in the fundraiser before we can afford out-of-pocket expenses of that magnitude.
If we don’t get accepted at VCU, dad will be coming home to spend time with the grandkids as well as my siblings and I. He will continue doing dialysis and taking his medication. Also he will begin counseling with Daymark. If we can not go out-of-state than we will have to do this for two to three months. After that time UNC said they would reevaluate him. Please keep praying for my dad as we do need a miracle.
Money talks and that’s the sad truth of the world. Especially for those of us who are not rich and just barely survive with what we have. Any millionaires out there need a tax write off? Please donate to my dad’s fundraiser. I am putting together a silent auction, a softball tournament, and possibly a soccer tournament. These are just the beginning so please reach out if you can help in anyway with these events. Thank you all!
Update 2: I find it harder to do a video update with everything going on, but here is a written update. Dad was denied by Duke, they gave their reasons, but it feels like they didn’t even want to give him a chance. If someone would give him a chance they would see just how dedicated dad is as well as my mom, me, and my sisters. We are all ready to support my dad and help him with everything, he just needs the opportunity. So speaking of opportunities we have reached out to a couple of Out-of-State facilities and we are waiting to hear back from them. We will continue to be persistent and give dad a fighting chance. This does mean that our cost is going to go way up so please if you believe in my dad, and can afford it, donate. Every little bit counts, even just sharing and spreading awareness does a lot for the family. We will continue to fight, I set out on a mission to save my dad and that mission isn’t over. Also please reach out if you can help with other fundraising activities, I’m not great at setting these things up and could use all the help I can get.
Update 1: I did a video update, just click the link to my youtube.
My dad Noland Shoemaker is a hard working man, he taught me to work hard and smart. I never followed in his footsteps, but I took his lessons with me in my career. This year my dad started to turn yellow and was diagnosed with Alcohol Hepatitis a liver disease. He has been in the hospital for over a month now.
He was evaluated at UNC for a transplant, he is a candidate and would of been at the top of the waiting list, but they denied him. They denied him because they don’t believe he will take care of himself after the transplant. We do understand this is part of their process, but the deciding factor was on my dads two small town doctor and one GI doctor he saw once. They messed up a lot of his paperwork, made claims that were untrue and made themselves out to look good. One key point that was told to my mother, who has been at my dads bedside since the beginning, was the time he refused to take his cholesterol medicine. The medicine in question would give my dad such severe cramps that his fingers and toes would lock into uncomfortable positions for periods of time. My dad and mom told the Doctor this and he simply told them to keep taking it, my dad tried but it was too much for him. Maybe I am wrong, but most of the time Doctors should offer alternatives if a patient is having a bad reaction to a medicine.
I just wanted to explain some of the things we have experienced so far, the news that he was denied broke my father and my mother. The one thing that gives him a chance to live is this liver transplant. I know what some will say, that he is an alcoholic and that the doctors were fair, but if you do think that you obviously don’t know my dad. Did he abuse alcohol especially in the last year? Yes. His reasons are understandable, he lost his own father three years ago and had lost him mom many years ago. They all lived in Georgia, he didn’t get to spend much time with him and had very little to remind him of his parent. That is when the drinking became heavy, but that wasn’t the peak. My dad is a painter who prides himself of having a steady hand, those he painted for know he never used tape, he cut in with just a brush like the true professional he was, but the drinking made him start to have tremors. In his mind drinking more steadied his hand. Work was sparse this past year for him and my papa(on my mama’s side), so life was stressful. I will say like most alcoholics I have known, he never lied to us and told us he quit. He never tried to hide it or anything, he told us he needed to ween himself off. He did that, he quit drinking for two weeks when we had to rush him to the ER. Another factor for his liver condition I believe was one his blood pressure medicine, and another medicine he was on that was double two weeks prior to him going to the ER. The doubling of the dosage was ordered by the GI and my dad followed orders, to which we now know from another Doctor was not the best idea.
My dad told me and my family he is done with Alcohol, he wants to live, he wants to watch his grandkids grow. I want my 1 year old daughter to know her Grampy and not just through pictures or videos. My dad deserves a second chance at life, he has worked hard his entire life and deserves some kind of break. I ask if you can give any money please do so, if not please share this. We have one more shot here in North Carolina and that is Duke, if they say no we will need to go out-of-state, which is going to be costly. I refuse to give up on my dad.