Help Joel Yeaton with Medical & Recovery Expenses

Joel Yeaton, my best friend from childhood, was recently admitted to the hospital for a failing mechanical heart valve. What was supposed to last a lifetime - a mechanical heart valve and a lifetime of waking up with his wife and two daughters - has turned into painful, gut-wrenching uncertainty, along with the heavy weight of life-critical medical decision making.

Joel learned early on what it feels like to face adversity. He has endured a lifelong test of physical and mental strength because of the medical issues he has faced due to a connective-tissue disorder. He had open heart surgery at the age of 9, a major back operation at the age of 16, another major back operation a few years later, and as an adult in 2016 he had a major surgery to install a mechanical aortic valve and aortic root graft. This heart surgery resulted in three strokes and an inability to work full time. Through it all, his steadfast strength, courage, character, and loving kindness touch everyone with whom he crosses paths. Despite chronic pain, he doesn’t complain. He always puts family, friends, and others first, and has a way of making days brighter and the trials of life lighter.

After extensive discussion with his medical team, numerous procedures, careful thought, and prayer, Joel will need to undergo a third major heart surgery, a second Bentall procedure, to replace the mechanical heart valve with a bovine heart valve, on Thursday, August 17th. The recovery will be long and grueling, lasting 4-8 months. Along with medical expenses and needing additional help, Joel will be out of work for months. As Joel enters another fight for his life, the overwhelming weight of living expenses lies heavily on the shoulders of this young family.

So I’m asking for your support. Please wrap your loving hearts around Joel and his family, and help ease the financial strain, so they can focus on what matters most - the best possible care for Joel, healing, and recovery. I’ve set up this Go Fund Me page to help cover some of the medical expenses, household expenses and missed income. Any amount helps.

I’ll continue to post to this page with updates on how Joel is doing. If you pray, please pray for the Yeatons, keep them in your thoughts, and let’s do everything we can to help them get through this. Together.

Thank you; your love and support will carry them through the hardest days.