Steve Kemp

Hello Everyone

My name is Kelly Hooper, Steve Kemp's sister. I am creating this GoFundMe account to raise some financial assistance for my brother who has been very ill the past couple of months.

As most of you know, on April 26th Steve suffered a severe heart attack. Here's a quick rundown of what he has had to endure thus far.

While waiting to hear from the doctors in Toronto regarding open heart surgery, it was discovered that Steve had contracted the Ecoli virus in his bloodstream and that he had become septic.

He beat that only to find out that his kidneys had failed. Active kidney failure resulted in countless hours of dialysis.

A routine ultrasound uncovered gallstones. Thankfully they are not bothersome at this time.

Steve developed a small issue on the rear side of things that required a little procedure before moving forward.

Adding insult to injury.... Steve's little 5 month old puppy fell ill and was diagnosed with severe Lyme disease - adding fear, uncertainty and anxiety to his already fragile, health condition.

Fast forward to May 28th....

Steve arrived in Toronto for his open heart surgery scheduled for the next day.

Surgery went as planned - quadruple bypass completed. We learned that not only did Steve wake up during surgery causing extensive nightmares and anxiety, he also suffered from a pneumothorax of his right lung which required a chest tube.

After all was said and done, waiting for him to wake up, they lightened his sedation only for him to start breathing over the breathing tube and panic ensued again.

His kidneys of course took a big hit from the surgery so he was back on 8+ hours of daily dialysis.

After surgery, Steve's heart rate was beating at a rate of 130 bpm at rest. Medications were not working to bring his heart rate down so they decided to try a procedure called Cardioversion. They stopped his heart and then shocked it back to a normal sinus rhythm. Basically like a factory reset.

Finally..... the tides have turned in our favour. Steve is responding well to all treatments. All his lines, wires and tubes have been removed. His kidneys have returned to normal functioning without the need for further dialysis.

He is finally being discharged home where he will recover and recuperate. A long road ahead of him.

Steve worked his entire life building his business Steve's Woodworks, only to be one of the many small businesses hit hard by COVID. Barely on the uphill climb from that devastating loss, and now this.

His fiancé, Raechel Bellwood, has been off work and by his side this entire time in Peterborough and then in Toronto. She has been an invaluable asset to Steve and his recovery from being his biggest advocate to helping bridge the gap between the health care team and Steve (medical lingo and practices).

The financial burden of being unable to work or contribute to the house has been absolutely debilitating to Steve and his stress free recovery. We are trying to raise funds to help alleviate some of the financial stress associated with his loss of income during his crisis and estimated 6 months of recovery time.

All monies raised will go towards helping him and his family stay afloat and bills paid while Steve continues his recovery and rehabilitation worry free, so he can get back to being the gifted cabinet maker we have all come to love and respect.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your continued support and prayers. Together, with you wonderful people as his support system, we will continue to stand by Steve as the next step of his journey begins.