
Feldman Shepherd
Trial lawyers for the most important things in life
Searching...
No results found. Please try modifying your search.
In the summer of 1964, when I was 16 and between my Freshman and Sophomore years in high school, I was run over by a pharmacy delivery truck, whose driver had broken into a drug delivery. He illegally took some barbituates, became a Driver Under the Influence (DUI), lost control of the vehicle and ran up onto a sidewalk. I was on that sidewalk, with my cousin, and returning home from a workout. I was run over, my right ear partially severed, from being dragged by the truck some 100 feet. I had a cracked backbone, bruised kidney, ruptured spleen and 2 concussions. I was in a coma for 2 weeks. I was told that only my youth spared me from death.
I had lettered as a freshman at Holy Cross High School, in track, and thought to be a promising athlete. Due to the injuries, I was prohibited from participating in contact sports, such as football, my true love.
Through the grace of God, a dedicated private nurse and with the love and support of my parents, I recovered. However, during the surgery, I had internal bleeding and received a transfusion. Unknown to all involved, the transfusion was with tainted blood. Hepatitis C was not discovered until 1990, more than 26 years after that fateful transfusion. I continued in High School to run track, but never achieved the potential that I envisioned.
A decade or so later, both of my parents died two years apart, when I was 28 and 30 respectively. Being an only child, I was presented with the fact that I now had to make my way alone. I cared for my grandmother until her death, at the age of 102. I married and had children, not knowing that the HCV was eating away at my liver.
Move ahead to 1999, when I was having my yearly prostate exam. The urologist ran some liver tests on me and I was ultimately diagnosed with the Hepatitis C virus, HCV. I underwent two 48 week regimens of Interferon and relapsed, both times. During these treatments I was weakened and my work as a health care recruiter of Clinical Medical Physicists, suffered greatly.
In 2015 I was offered the miracle drug Harvoni. After six weeks of treatment, The HCV was cleared from my system. I am so grateful to the Hepatology team at Ochsner, for helping me obtain this expensive but curative drug.
After clearing my system of the HCV, I was scheduled for regular six month follow ups. Until a few weeks ago, I seemed fine. Then, one of my labs showed a spike in my AfP tumor marker score from 2.4 to 39. My PA became concerned and ordered an ultrasound, CT, then an MRI. They identified a cell that was determined to be HCC, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, AKA liver cancer. I was informed on my son’s birthday, as we were about to celebrate, I became somber and sorrowful, rather than happy and joyful. I shared the news with only a few family members that evening, not wanting to put a definitive damper on the mood. But, make no mistake, I was depressed, and my family bewildered, as to just how to take this news.
My only grandson, 3 year old Vincent is the joy in my life. We spend countless hours and days together, bonding and reveling in our naturally symbiotic relationship. For me to contemplate, not only my own death, but the pain and mental anguish it would cause him, to loose his pawpaw, brings tears to my eyes, every time.
I am determined to beat this latest challenge. I have totally changed my lifestyle to be the best patient I can be. I have lost almost forty pounds, walk three miles 6x a week. Have put myself on a 1600 calorie diet and upped my prayer count immeasurably. As I tell my friends this fateful story, I can see, feel and hear their concern, but assure them that I will be the best possible compliant patient that I can be. My confidence level is still high, due to Ochsner bring a top rated Multi-Organ Transplant Center
I reflect back on that fateful accident when I was 16, no fault of my own, but never the less, setting into motion the dynamics that lead me here today. I am now raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund my uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation.
I have chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility to the full extent allowed by law for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.
For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.
Thank you for your support!
I had a second RFA (radiofrequency ablation) of a suspicious 1.5 cm lesion on January 22. My IR (Interventional Radiology team) led by Dr Gimenez, also biopsied a thrombosis (blood clot) that was suspicious. The follow up confirmed that the ablation was successful , but the biopsy returned a positive result for malignancy. Therefore, I am scheduled for a Y-90 Radiation segmentectomy (RS) of the clot in early February.
Radiation segmentectomy (RS) is a minimally invasive option that uses the radioisotope yttrium-90 (Y90) to destroy tumors. The isotope is embedded into tiny beads that are delivered through a catheter into a blood vessel in the liver. They then travel to the site of the tumor, where they come to rest and deliver their radioactive effect while sparing much of the surrounding healthy tissue.
The procedure’s name derives from the fact that surgeons divide the liver into a number of segments. Using an imaging approach called cone beam CT, interventional radiologists gain a detailed view of the complex liver vasculature and can focus delivery of the Y90 to the relevant segment.
“Cone beam CT has revolutionized our ability to perform segmental injections isolated to very small tumors, sparing the majority of normal tissue,” said study senior author Riad Salem, M.D., chief of vascular interventional radiology in the Department of Radiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Before cone beam CT, we had the ability to focus radiation, but not with this level of accuracy.”
Dr. Salem and colleagues studied long-term outcomes in 70 early-stage HCC patients who had undergone RS between 2003 and 2016. They analyzed the patients’ responses to treatment based on two commonly used sets of criteria.
Based on one criteria, 90 percent of patients showed positive response to the therapy, of which 59 percent showed complete response. Based on a second criteria, 71 percent achieved positive response, of which 16 percent achieved complete response.
RS controlled the target tumor, slowed the time to disease progression and improved survival outcomes at rates comparable to radiofrequency ablation, surgery and transplantation for early-stage HCC patients.
Almost three-quarters of patients had no progression of cancer in the target tumor five years after treatment. Median overall survival was 6.7 years, and one-, three-, and five-year survival probabilities were 98 percent, 66 percent and 57 percent, respectively. One-, three-, and five-year overall survival probability was 100 percent, 82 percent and 75 percent in patients with a baseline tumor size of 3 centimeters or less.
So, I am hopeful for a positive outcome and pray daily that is what we achieve.
My fundraiser is just about two weeks away (Feb 17th) and I feel good about the response and preparation. Many of my musician friends will participate and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart. Others have made generous donations of time and money to bolster my cause. I truly am blessed with the outpouring of support. I will be going on WWOZ radio station (Guardians of the Groove) the week prior to the event and making my final pitch for attendance. Please pray for me and if you are in New Orleans try to attend as I anticipate a great show!
I had my Radiofrequency Ablation on October 29 and after just reviewing the follow up labs and MRI, I am happy to say it was successful . My labs are fairly normal considering my diagnosis and from the IR notes : “Posttreatment change of right hepatic lobe lesion without evidence of residual or recurrent disease” That means that they ablated the cancerous cell and it is “gone”. Which is great news for me and provides a bridge of time until my actual transplant !
Additionally, preparation and organization of my benefit fundraiser program is coming along nicely (with the greatest of help from my HOPEHELPLIVE coordinator, Ms Jeanne Ketcham), and it is scheduled for Sunday February 17 ,2019 at the Rock ‘n Bowl, in New Orleans, from 1:30-5:30pm. It is supposed to go live on this page pretty soon. Thank you, Jeanne ! And thank you to all who follow this journey and for your prayers and support.
In the summer of 1964, when I was 16 and between my Freshman and Sophomore years in high school, I was run over by a pharmacy delivery truck, whose driver had broken into a drug delivery. He illegally took some barbituates, became a Driver Under the Influence (DUI), lost control of the vehicle and ran up onto a sidewalk. I was on that sidewalk, with my cousin, and returning home from a workout. I was run over, my right ear partially severed, from being dragged by the truck some 100 feet. I had a cracked backbone, bruised kidney, ruptured spleen and 2 concussions. I was in a coma for 2 weeks. I was told that only my youth spared me from death.
I had lettered as a freshman at Holy Cross High School, in track, and thought to be a promising athlete. Due to the injuries, I was prohibited from participating in contact sports, such as football, my true love.
Through the grace of God, a dedicated private nurse and with the love and support of my parents, I recovered. However, during the surgery, I had internal bleeding and received a transfusion. Unknown to all involved, the transfusion was with tainted blood. Hepatitis C was not discovered until 1990, more than 26 years after that fateful transfusion. I continued in High School to run track, but never achieved the potential that I envisioned.
A decade or so later, both of my parents died two years apart, when I was 28 and 30 respectively. Being an only child, I was presented with the fact that I now had to make my way alone. I cared for my grandmother until her death, at the age of 102. I married and had children, not knowing that the HCV was eating away at my liver.
Move ahead to 1999, when I was having my yearly prostate exam. The urologist ran some liver tests on me and I was ultimately diagnosed with the Hepatitis C virus, HCV. I underwent two 48 week regimens of Interferon and relapsed, both times. During these treatments I was weakened and my work as a health care recruiter of Clinical Medical Physicists, suffered greatly.
In 2015 I was offered the miracle drug Harvoni. After six weeks of treatment, The HCV was cleared from my system. I am so grateful to the Hepatology team at Ochsner, for helping me obtain this expensive but curative drug.
After clearing my system of the HCV, I was scheduled for regular six month follow ups. Until a few weeks ago, I seemed fine. Then, one of my labs showed a spike in my AfP tumor marker score from 2.4 to 39. My PA became concerned and ordered an ultrasound, CT, then an MRI. They identified a cell that was determined to be HCC, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, AKA liver cancer. I was informed on my son’s birthday, as we were about to celebrate, I became somber and sorrowful, rather than happy and joyful. I shared the news with only a few family members that evening, not wanting to put a definitive damper on the mood. But, make no mistake, I was depressed, and my family bewildered, as to just how to take this news.
My only grandson, 3 year old Vincent is the joy in my life. We spend countless hours and days together, bonding and reveling in our naturally symbiotic relationship. For me to contemplate, not only my own death, but the pain and mental anguish it would cause him, to loose his pawpaw, brings tears to my eyes, every time.
I am determined to beat this latest challenge. I have totally changed my lifestyle to be the best patient I can be. I have lost almost forty pounds, walk three miles 6x a week. Have put myself on a 1600 calorie diet and upped my prayer count immeasurably. As I tell my friends this fateful story, I can see, feel and hear their concern, but assure
them that I will be the best possible compliant patient that I can be. My confidence level is still high, due to Ochsner bring a top rated Multi-Organ Transplant Center
My RFA is scheduled for October 29, but there is no guarantee that other HCC cells will not continue to pop up in my now grossly cirrhotic liver. Therefore, I need this transplant to live a longer life. My general health, other than this cancer, of course, is good. My liver is still functioning and my MELD score is 10. Being a local patient, I can be called to be the backup for any blood “type A” transplants that may be scheduled. My journey begins again.
I reflect back on that fateful accident when I was 16, no fault of my own, but never the less, setting into motion the dynamics that lead me here today. That is my Story.
My RFA (Radiofrequency ablation) is scheduled for Monday October 29. I’ve lost 35 lbs since May and have changed my lifestyle to include 50 mins of cardio 6x a week and constant prayer. I have changed my diet to include 1600 calories a day. I am eating at least 2 cups of vegetables and fruits a day, including a veggie omelet in the morning or oatmeal with blueberries. I am drinking water constantly. I eat a banana every day, as my grandmother told me that’s why she lived to 102, lol. My HCC has been measured at 2.2 cm as of the last MRI and I have been officially added to the transplant list. My MELD score is at 10 and because I am a local patient (20 mins from Ochsner), I could be called at any time as a backup to any scheduled transplant recipient with A type blood. My Bone density score was .6 and that is within the preferred range of -1 to +1. My stress test was good, reaching heart rate of 127, which is 85% of the max for my age of 150, within just 8 minutes.
Loading Images
Howie, please know that we are here to support you however we can!! We love you, brother, and pray for your good health! Tim and Mary Lynn
Timothy Kelly
Good Luck Howard !
Richard Watson
Howard, God Bless you and praying the Lord keep you in His care and restore your healthfor many years forward. God Bless
lou coniglio
Praying that all goes well!
Louis Aguirre
Howard, Hope this helps a little. Praying for you and a great outcome. Merlin
Merlin Villar
Best wishes and our prayers are for you to a successful outcome. "Believe you can and you’re halfway there." Paul and Cheryl
Paul Luce
Good luck, Howard!
Merilyn Crain
In support of Howard Couvillion
Carol Bragdon
Sending love and prayers your way!
Carol Bragdon
Love you Howie.
Lindy Brown
I am with you Howard in so many ways. Yesterday I had a fibroscan to see what kind of damage has been done to my liver. I also have hep C and went on the interferon treatment many years ago, but just recently it has become active again. Been a nervous wreck waiting for the procedure and was finally blessed with good news that I qualify for the new drug treatment and the doctor says the prognosis is good. I’m sharing this so you know I do know somewhat where your at and that I will be sending prayers and loving thoughts to you. There are no words to ease the pain of what you must feel about your grandson. I know you must be the very best pawpaw. Keep making memories.I know your faith is strong and you have good people around you for support. Thank you for sharing this. That in itself took courage. You are a strong and beautiful man Howard and you are not alone on this journey.
Lindy
Make checks payable to:
Help Hope Live
Note in memo:
In honor of Howard Couvillon
Mail to:
Help Hope Live
2 Radnor Corporate Center
Suite 100
100 Matsonford Road
Radnor, PA 19087
Subscribe to this campaign to receive updates.
Trial lawyers for the most important things in life
Accessibility for all: Helping people connect with who and what matters most
Building leading-edge mobility products
One of the largest mobility dealers in the U.S.
Advanced medical care and air transportation when you need it the most