Lacey Man Battles Rare Form Of Cancer

Gary Connor's children call him one of the hardest-working people you'll ever meet. But since receiving diagnosis for a rare form of cancer, the Lacey resident had to miss some cherished moments.

Connor began experiencing symptoms in October of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). This cancer usually occurs in infants and young children but sometimes occurs in adults, according to Hopkins Medicine.

Connor has missed holidays with family while undergoing treatment. He has spent much of his daughter's senior year and his son's first year of high school in hospitals. But the family isn't giving up. Connor's daughter, Alexis, posted a GoFundMe for his medical bills that raised $17,775 in one day, as of Tuesday morning.

"As his daughter and family, we miss having the “life of the party” around," Alexis wrote. "It’s too quiet and we need him back."

Connor woke up to flu-like symptoms on Oct. 14, including a fever of 103 degrees. After two days of illness, family took him to urgent care. They told Connor he needed to go to the emergency room.

His girlfriend, Jessica Soares, rushed him to Community Medical Center in Toms River. Connor's urine was dark brown, so they thought he might just need an IV pole for fluids and antibiotics. Doctors tested him for flu and strep, both coming up negative.

The hospital ran more blood work, which showed elevated numbers that implied a "very serious infection," Connor's doctor told them. The hospital admitted him that day, expecting Connor to be there at least three days.

"Gary being the hard worker that he has always been, wasn’t very pleased to hear that he would be missing that many days of work," Alexis wrote.

Connor received four days of tests with negative results. Because of declining health and needing intubation, he was transferred Oct. 21 to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

RWJ doctors continued to run tests. Connor experienced multiple organ failures, which led to RWJ putting him on dialysis for his kidneys. His body broke out in rashes. He experienced high-grade fevers and was sedated to prevent his organs from overworking themselves.

Each day, RWJ gave Connor a "holiday," when medical professionals lowered his sedation to wake him up for 15 minutes. Soares and children Alexis and Ryan would talk to him in each holiday period, telling him to stay strong and keep fighting.

Doctors examined Connor's blood under a microscope and found a possible answer. After further testing, Connor was diagnosed Oct. 31 with HLH. Connor began cancer treatment days earlier when doctors suspected he might have HLH. But these test results meant he definition needed to continue chemotherapy.

Things started looking up for Connor on Nov. 3, when doctors removed his breathing tube and moved him to the oncology floor. But he suffered some tough days from there.

"He experienced a mini stroke, multiple mucus plugs in his lungs, extremely high blood pressure, a high heartrate, multiple blood transfusions, and suffered from multiple infections in his lungs and blood stream," Alexis wrote.

Connor was able to spend time with family on Thanksgiving. But on Dec. 3, he was reintubated and returned to the ICU. Connor experienced a second multiple organ failure and fluid buildup around his lungs. He also experienced multiple infections from chemo eliminating his white blood cells.

Doctors lost some hope at that point, Alexis said. They decided to hold off on chemo because Connor's body couldn't handle it anymore.

But Connor never gave up. He developed more white blood cells and platelets. Doctors removed his breathing, feeding and chest tubes on New Year's Day. Connor moved back to the oncology floor, where he currently stays.

Connor lost all muscle in his body, so he received physical therapy every day to regain and relearn those muscles, including learning how to sit, walk and eat again.

"Gary is one of the most hard-working people you will ever meet," Alexis wrote. "All his life, it revolved around working and working hard to provide for his family in order to give them the best life possible."

Photos provided by GoFundMe, a Patch promotional partner