August 24th - Surgery Day!

Happy to report that Alan had his TAVR aortic valve replacement surgery today and he is doing well! Laura told us the Doc said everything went flawlessly. He will be in ICU overnight but could go home tomorrow! Then back to Laura’s for rest, recovery and continued therapy for the effects of the stroke. Please let’s try and get to our donation goal! As many of us well know, these medical costs will be crushing. Please donate and/or share the link to this page! Thanks again to everyone for their contributions, and let’s keep it going!

Hanging in there until August 24th

Hello, friends of Alan!  We’re very happy to report that Al’s TAVR valve procedure has been re-scheduled for August 24th. Al’s sister Laura says his doctors want to wait two months from his stroke before performing the valve replacement procedure. This to give his system time to recover from the stroke, and also hopefully to prevent another one from occurring. This has been the biggest obstacle to going ahead with the surgery. They met with his medical team last week, and the neurologist ordered some physical and speech therapy between now and the 24th. Laura let us know that they’ve adjusted his meds to try and reduce the swelling in his legs, and that his breathing is much improved as a result. He has a mild aortic aneurism, but that it may actually improve when his valve is replaced. Al is in surprisingly decent spirits, considering the terrifying nature of what he’s facing, and the stroke hasn’t stopped him from talking on the phone, cracking jokes and making corny puns, thankfully!  So please, if you can, help Al by calling to cheer him or visiting in person (message Michele or Mary Ellen for Laura’s address). Please contribute anything you’re able to give to his cause!! We also learned today that his physical and speech therapy may not be covered by his insurance, so any amount you’re able to donate to his heart fund will absolutely help! We’re grateful to you all!! Thank you everyone, and especially a huge thank you to Al’s dear sister Laura for all she’s doing for our friend. She says she wouldn’t have it any other way but truly, Al couldn’t have a better caregiver and friend!

Al Holding On for Safer Surgery

Just a quick update. Alan will now be evaluated only on August 5th to see if he has healed enough to have the needed TAVR surgery. The need is still urgent but it is a delicate balance to determine when it can take place. Please let’s get to $10,000 before he has the surgery… pass this along again to continue raising the funds for his medical costs. Thanks again to everyone for your continued support! Every delay is trying we know, yet even more so for Al and his family. Wishing you a peaceful healthy summer!

Alan’s Awaiting Arterial Absolution

Hello again friends of Alan! His trans-arterial valve replacement (TAVR) surgery is now set for August 5th. Due to the delicate balance between Al’s aortic stenosis and the stroke he had, the surgeons have decided his brain needs to heal a bit more before they can risk the surgery. So, incredibly, yesterday (July 23rd), they sent him home to his sister’s house for two weeks with an amazing safety device to protect his heart. He is wearing a defibrillator “LifeVest” that can detect certain rapid heart rhythms and deliver a shock to correct them. Amazing! Sounds a bit Frankenstein-ish but it is truly incredible, and has saved numerous lives while waiting for safer surgery. It’s quite minimal, and his sister Laura jokingly told him that now he know what it’s like to wear a bra all the time. (Go girl!) It gives us more time to raise the needed funds, so thank you for your patience, and please pass this along to anyone and everyone who might be able to donate, and donate again if you are able. He appreciates it more than words can say! Peace and love to you all!

New Developments in Al’s Condition

Greetings, friends and supporters of Alan! We are so grateful to everyone who has donated so far to his urgent heart surgery fund, and are now reaching out again. Al drove himself to the emergency room (ER) on July 6th as he was having concerning symptoms while waiting for his heart catheterization test on July 14th. It is a really good thing he did because he was in heart failure when he entered the ER, and was promptly transferred to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) at his primary hospital. 

He had his catheterization test on Friday, July 9th, yet unfortunately also suffered a slight stroke, resulting in some aphasia, double vision, and short-term memory loss. The good news is that his sister Laura said that he was still full of puns and lines from songs. The next day he was feeling better, and the symptoms were beginning to subside. It is hopeful that an angioplasty can be performed as an interim heart procedure until it is safer for him to have the open heart surgery. Before the stroke, Al was expecting the surgery, hospitalization, and recovery costs to run about $80,000 and likely more, however now it surely will go to six figures. This is why we have raised our goal to $25,000 to assist with the new costs.

Al’s tests were delayed because his work insurance didn’t cover them, so the required deposit was far more than he could afford. By the time he was able to obtain to Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance instead, the July 14th test date was the earliest available appointment. What has happened is a classic example of the “double bind” in health insurance these days. Anything you can contribute helps his cause, even the price of a cup o’ Joe at a coffee bar! And thank you, thank you, thank you, if you’ve already donated! Sharing the link for this page with friends far and wide on Facebook and/or email would be much appreciated.

Thanks to all you kind folks for taking the time to read this and possibly donate to his fund. Let’s keep the momentum going!
Wishing peace & love to you and yours!


The Beginning

Our dear friend Alan Watson is facing a daunting, and incredibly expensive life-saving heart surgery for aortic stenosis (AS), so we are reaching out for any donations you can make to help “mend his broken heart.” (Yes, it’s a Bee Gees reference.) We all know Al as an exceptionally gifted and hardworking artist, naturalist (avid kayaker), pop music lover (fav era 1965-85), voracious reader (esp. biographies & history), cat lover, and creator of puns for any and every occasion. What you may not know is that Al was recently diagnosed with AS, a dangerous narrowing of the aortic valve opening. Under the best of circumstances this is terrifying — left untreated, survival is not possible. Valve replacement surgery is almost always necessary, and the first step in testing is a transfer echocardiogram and heart catheterization to determine the best way to proceed with surgery. The out-of-pocket costs for the TEE and catheterization alone are estimated at $5,000, which is what we are hoping to raise for him now. The cost of the open-heart surgery to replace the damaged valve, or insert a stent, is still to be determined but surely in the tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, he will be off work for at least four weeks while he recovers. As with so many people these days that work hard yet only have minimal health insurance, the crisis he faces with his diagnosis is crushing. Needless to say, he has “the moody blues” about it. (Sorry!) We ask for your donation to help Alan make it through this “disheartening” time so that his recovery will be assured. If you cannot donate monetarily, other assistance would be greatly appreciated, such as taking care of his kitty Kashmir, providing a meal, some cat food, or offering some company while he recovers, please let Al know directly. Thank you, we send you “words of love,” and peace in a world that needs it desperately.

Organized by Mary Ellen Powell and Michele Schuff