Shawn's Medical Expenses

This medical expenses fundraiser is for my friend, Shawn O’Connor. 

In early October, he was not feeling well and thought he had a stomach virus. He went to the hospital where the doctors discovered a small strip of tissue wrapped around his intestines that caused a blockage. The doctors cyphered out the blocked material and the next day he underwent surgery to correct the problem. He is now recuperating.

Shawn is a kind hearted, down to earth and talented guy. He is a studio artist who makes functional pottery fired in a wood kiln.  

What makes Shawn’s circumstances distinctive is that this is his second major surgery. When Shawn was in his last year of college he was having intense headaches and neck pain. He went to the doctor who sent him to the ER. He had a CAT scan, which revealed nothing, so the doctors sent him home. The next day his symptoms worsened so he went back to the ER where they gave him an MRI, which revealed a swelling cyst in his brain.  The doctors put a shunt in to relieve the pressure then Life Flight took him to Mass General where he underwent brain surgery. Shawn spent a month in the hospital and three month recuperating from the surgery.

He recovered from brain surgery, finished his degree and went on to earn an MFA at Syracuse University. Shawn has continued to pursue his artistic passion through teaching and residencies where he makes a huge impact on the people he meets.

With the loss of his father, it has been a tough year for Shawn. He moved back to Maine this summer to rebuild his mom's house and establish his financial base in order to buy his own house and set up his studio. Currently, Shawn is not employed and does not have health insurance, so the hospital bill will be a huge set back.

I am asking for your support in this fundraiser to help Shawn pay his medical expenses.  All the money raised will go directly to paying his hospital bills.