February 26, 2023
Here is an update on my beloved, Roger, from his wife, Alana.
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Roger was extubated two days ago after being reintubated a few days prior. We did not know if he was going to need to be immediately intubated again or not but we had to try to get that tube out of him. So far, Roger has exceeded expectations. One of the big concerns when he was intubated is that his respiratory rate was too high for traditional criteria to extubate. As soon as that tube came out of Roger’s throat, his respiratory rates normalized. Praise God!
Since then, Roger has begun extensive physical therapy that has left him sore and tired. However, he is so happy to be getting out of that hospital bed and at least into a chair. Still, he is extremely weak. He cannot stand to get out of the chair but, instead, has to be lifted using this swing thing they have to lift patients. This means Roger needs prayer for strength. Even holding his head up for a period of time is painful to him because of the weakness.
Roger’s kidneys are starting to show signs of waking up. He is producing some urine. Thank you, Jesus!! However, we are not out of the woods yet. We need his kidneys to heal so he doesn’t end up on dialysis for the rest of his life. Roger’s quality of life isn’t anywhere near where I want it to be as it is. Dialysis would be catastrophic to his quality of life, I feel. While I would be honored and more than willing to be his living kidney donor, I don’t want him to go through that journey again. And, as of now, he would not qualify for that because of his current condition. It would be a long, painful road. Please pray fervently for healing over Roger’s kidneys.
And, as always, please, please pray for healing over Roger’s lungs so we don’t have to go toward a trach. Please pray for strength for him so he can cough up the pneumonia to prevent the need for reintubation.
Finally, please pray that Roger’s delirium will continue to clear. Even if he gains strength, if he cannot cough or swallow due to delirium, he will be reintubated. Please pray.
Thank you all so, so much for praying over my beloved! I am forever so very grateful!!
February 19, 2023
This is Alana Rudder providing an update on Roger’s fight.
After being extubated on February 12, Roger was reintubated today. I spoke with Roger’s lead doctor today. He said that Roger had become weak from his 17-day intubation, which made it difficult for him to cough proactively to keep the new bout of pneumonia from taking over his lungs. Because of this weakness, Roger’s lungs filled with fluid. As a result, it became to difficult to breath and Roger stopped breathing today. This is why intubation was necessary.
While this was incredibly traumatizing, after the intubation happened, the doctor came to speak with me about Roger’s prognosis and the plan for him moving forward. He said that Roger needs a trachea. The trachea will allow him to be woken up some whereas a breathing tube would not make room for the possibility. With a trachea, they could wake Roger up enough and still have him comfortable enough to start doing physical therapy. This physical therapy will happen over the next two months to help him get stronger to be able to breathe on his own.
Right now, we need to pray for strength for Roger and for no more setbacks to his path to healing. The doctor said that another setback could be catastrophic to Roger’s prognosis. So, I am coming to you to pray for no more setbacks and for a smooth path through healing from the pneumonia, healing his kidneys, and gaining strength. We need Roger’s delirium to dissipate as well so he can participate in physical therapy. Please, pray fervently over the next few weeks about these needs. Roger’s life depends on it.
Please also pray for financial provision for us. Two months is a long time to try to keep our lives together in the middle of a crisis. I need prayer that I can keep our lives together and keep our home. We need desperate prayer for provision.
Thank you all!!
January 28, 2023
This is Alana, Roger’s wife, providing an update on Roger’s fight for his life. Roger is currently on life support in the ICU at UVA. He is receiving daily feedings via an NG tube. He is also on the ventilator that breathes for him due to his sudden respiratory failure.
We do not yet know what caused this. We know that the underlying damage from the fungal infection to Roger’s lungs set the stage for this sudden decline. However, there is more to this pneumonia as it is clearly an infection on top of the fungal infection. Both together have cause this respiratory failure. We are waiting for results on the fluids that were taken from his lungs yesterday morning. So far, there has been no growth, which is not uncommon at this point. However, if no growth happens in a timely manner, they will likely go in and do a biopsy of Roger’s lungs in search of answers.
Today, Roger‘s white blood counts more than doubled. He also is experiencing a significant kidney injury. The kidney injury is causing some pretty significant issues with Roger’s overall ability to filter toxins from his system. If this does not turn around today, Roger will likely have to start dialysis soon. However, there is a decent chance that will not be needed long term. If it is needed long term, I have already spoken with the transplant center about whether they would consider me for his kidney donor, to which I was told yes. However, I am having faith his kidneys will bounce back and be fine, even if he has to have some dialysis to help them through this crisis. Roger has been through this before.
Due to Roger’s sepsis, his hemoglobin continues to drop. This means that the production system in his bones (which produce red blood cells) have shut down. This is not uncommon with sepsis. Roger began blood transfusions today to help his body get what it needs, including iron and oxygen to his organs.
We are also having difficulties keeping Roger’s blood pressure at a high enough level to sustain him. We have begun medications to help support him in lifting his blood pressure levels.
The good news: Roger’s oxygen requirements are coming down. A normal person’s oxygen concentration requirements are around 21%, which is room concentration levels. Roger was at 80% oxygen concentration requirement when he was first intubated but has titration down to a 50% oxygen concentration requirement. Because of this, Roger is currently moving in the right direction with this. The team today wanted to see if Roger has the will to breath on his own. So, they brought down his sedation levels slightly today. Reports indicate that Roger is trying to breathe on his own, showing us all what a true and faithful fighter he is and giving us all hope.
Still, Roger is not near being able to support his own oxygen requirements. We are told that this will be a drawn out process where we will experience victories and setbacks. We have to be prepared for a rollercoaster. And I am prepared for a rollercoaster. His journey has been a rollercoaster for so long that I feel I know what to expect.
When Roger comes off of life support (I use “when” because I know our Lord is fighting for him), his recovery will be long, likely at least two years, given the severity of the sepsis he has endured.
Right now, I am praising God for many victories that, though seemingly small, provide massive hope. I also ask for fervent prayer around Roger’s kidney function. His kidneys need to bounce back from their injury and start helping Roger to filter toxins again. Roger needs that in the midst of this fight We also need prayer around the results of the broncoscopy they did yesterday morning. We need to know what has attacked Roger so we can begin targeted treatment to help Roger recover. I also ask for prayer that whatever attacked him is treatable. Please pray with me.
Thank you all so very much for standing with us in prayer and faith! Thank you to all who have reached out to strengthen me during times of weakness and to our church family members who have come to visit and provide support. I will never forget your support. I truly could not have endured this alone!!
January 21, 2023
Roger has been battling a fungal pneumonia since transplant. It was only discovered this year what exactly it was that was damaging Roger’s lungs. In that hospital stay, he was in the hospital for 6 weeks, experienced 6 crash team calls and was in and out of the ICU. This fungal pneumonia took over his lungs due to the immunosuppressive drugs he takes to keep from rejecting his new liver.
Earlier this week, he fell and badly broke his hip. This break required surgery to fix. While in the hospital, he developed aspiration pneumonia on top of the fungal pneumonia he was already fighting. Because he was already fighting the fungal pneumonia, the new pneumonia was too much for his body and he went septic almost immediately. Currently, Roger is unresponsive and septic at UVA hospital. Please pray for him. He needs your fervent prayers. Thank you!
June 14, 2022
A new battle:
For those who may not know, Roger is in the hospital with a lung infection. It is affecting his ability to breathe and take his anti-rejection medications that keep his new liver in place. It is also causing an excess of CO2 in his brain creating a delirious state at times. He has been in and out of the ICU.
He is continuing to fight and looking forward to the day that he can go home and his land. This will be an uphill battle as Alana stays in the hospital with him, fighting by his side and standing by him.
Please continue to pray for the family and consider donating to help them be able to focus on his health instead of worrying about finances.
Thank you for your continued support.
July 27, 2020
Roger was discharged 11 days ago to the local hotel near the hospital to await his surgery. He did not make it that long without going septic again. He is back in the hospital. He and his wife are waiting to hear if they can go forward with the life-saving surgery tomorrow to stop Roger's recurring sepsis. The UVA team has also discovered that, in addition to the broken ribs, face bones, and brain hemorrhage, Roger also broke his hip a month ago when he passed out. The pain suddenly became very acute two days ago and it is excruciating. As a result of the broken hip, Roger may need surgery on his hip now to avoid a full hip replacement as the fracture continues to get worse when pressure is on it from walking. Roger's pain is excruciating with all the broken bones, chronic pancreatitis, and his bile duct stricture. Please pray that he can go into surgery tomorrow to stop all the sepsis and begin to get his life back. Please pray that he will recover fully from this broken hip with no need for surgery or for a full hip replacement down the line. Please stand with Roger and Alana in faith as they pray and wait for complete healing! Thank you all!
July 12, 2020
Roger is back in the hospital and has been for weeks. He passed out at home, they think from infection and dehydration as a result of the ongong sepsis and issues with his biliary drains (which are intended to save the liver his wife gave him). When he passed out, he did not catch himself and fell foward on a hard wood floor. In doing so, he broke three ribs and three bones in his face, cut open his face (with significant blood loss), and suffered a brain hemorrhage. Once in the hospital, he developed double pneumonia, likely from aspiration during the fall. He is not able to remain stable at home anymore and so is likely to remain in the hospital to undergo a bile duct surgery to replace these drains and stop this life-threatening cycle.
Alana is staying with him near the hospital. Roger has slipped into a deep delirium and is unable to understand where he is a lot of the time. The only thing he consistently seems to register is Alana and, when she is not there, he hallucinates horrible tradgedies surrounding her death. So, though Alana is not allowed to stay with him at night due to COVID restrictions, she is with him all day every day.
Please continue to pray for Roger's complete healing as UVA teams work to stabilize Roger and save his liver. Thank you all!!
May 16, 2020
After Roger and Alana underwent their living donor liver transplant in November of 2017, Roger went from lying in an ICU bed with only a few days to live to embracing life, gaining strength, enjoying his life with his wife, and healing. Unfortunately, he then suffered a bile duct leak and subsequent stricture that lead to a two year struggle to discover what was wrong. In the meantime, he became bedridden and very ill as his kidneys, pancreas, liver, and stomach struggled to handle the damage the stricture induced. His kidneys have experienced multiple injuries and his pancreas has been thrown into multiple chronic pancreatitis flareups. Roger's stomach is struggling to work properly to help Roger take advantage of nutrition due to a lack of pancreas and liver digestive assistance. He has become severely malnourished as a result. Over that two-year period, Roger spent months in the hospital and developed stage three fibrosis of his new liver. The development of fibrosis was confirmed in a liver biopsy and the fight began to keep Roger from progressing to stage four fibrosis (or end-stage liver failure), which would require another transplant.
Today, Roger is in the hospital fighting hard to save the gift his wife gave him. His wife is living with him near the hospital or in the hospital when allowed. COVID-19 has complicated his care significantly. Alana and Roger ask for fervent prayer for a successful fight for Roger and full healing. Please pray for a path to healing before end-stage liver disease develops. Treatment for the stricture involves liver drains that have lead to complications like an aneurysm in the only hepatic artery Roger has, frequent Cholangitis, multiple bouts of sepsis, and months spent in the hospital. Roger has spent more time in the hospital thus far in 2020 than out.
As Roger and Alana fight for Roger's gift of life, expenses have mounted as they live away from home so Roger can receive adequate care at the transplant center. They must constantly travel to and from the hospital and Roger's medical appointments. To help Roger recover from severe malnutrition (and so gain strength to fight for his new liver), Roger also needs procedures that amount to thousands of dollars that are not covered by insurance. Any donation you provide will go directly to his medical care and, big or small, every donation is so appreciated! Thank you for your support!
November 27, 2017
Roger was taken back to the ER in Lynchburg on Thanksgiving morning and, from there, was transferred to UVA to be placed back in the ICU for bleeding from the esophageal varices due to liver failure. We were thankful that the bleeding stopped on its own. He has been in the hospital since then, though, as the transplant team keeps him stable for his living donor transplant on Thursday. After receiving confirmation this morning that the surgery is a go, I (Alana) started my pre-op fast today to be prepared to give Roger 54% of my liver on Thursday morning. Please be in prayer for us and for the transplant team for the next couple of days so that Roger will remain stable for surgery. Please also pray for a smooth and successful surgery and recovery for both of us! Last but never least, please thank our Lord for us for how hard He has and continues to fight for Roger! Thank you so much for all your support!
November 16, 2017
I am so excited to announce that, after 3 days of testing, it has been confirmed that I, Alana, am Roger's perfect liver match! Though my husband is currently in the ICU after the veins in his throat burst again, we are hopeful. The UVA transplant team wants to move forward with his transplant by the end of the month. We are so grateful to our Lord for the miracle he performed in making me to be the perfect liver match for my sweet husband! Please pray for us that all will go smoothly and that we will recover quicker than is expected. Thank you all for your support!
October 24, 2017
I (Alana) am excited to announce that my husband and I found out today that we are blood-type compatible, meaning we can go forward with further testing to see if I can be his living donor. This means more potential options to beating this cancer and more hope of a life together. We would so appreciate your prayers as we go through further testing! We thank you for your support!
October 24, 2017
We are so excited to announce that Roger is now on the organ transplant waiting list. In addition, his chemo procedure to bridge him to transplant went better than expected, with a complete response. His wife, Alana, has begun testing to see if she is his match and can be his living donor. Please continue to keep Roger in your prayers!
