Emergency Medical Relief for John D Monteith

John D. Monteith is a father, artist, and good friend of many years. That is why I wanted to start this fundraiser and ask for your kind help and support. Many of you may know his work in various media, and his uncontainable wit. In spite of everything he has endured recently, he has managed to continue painting and to maintain his sense of humor. But he desperately needs our help. For those of you who haven’t had the chance to meet him, John is a brilliant, funny, 56 year old painter and father of two, who has worked in various media for more than 30 years, and currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina.

In February 2020, John's life was irrevocably changed by a sudden, surprising and near-fatal collapse due to an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.

This required a 22-day stay in cardiac ICU during which he underwent four separate surgical procedures, most notably a mechanical heart valve replacement.

Two days following open heart surgery, he coded and had to be resuscitated during a rare but deadly cardiac event.

This necessitated the implantation of a combined defibrillator/pacemaker in the event he experienced irregular rhythms or worse, went into cardiac arrest.

In the midst of all this, he was unfortunately diagnosed with terminal congestive heart failure and given a general prognosis of

five to 10 years.

At the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was discharged from the hospital.

During the first years of his recovery, he did what he could to manage the inevitable and gradual decline of this unpredictable illness.

Then, a few days after Thanksgiving of 2022, he had the first of a series of small strokes that has left him with balance and coordination issues, vision impairment, headaches, extreme fatigue and a loss of appetite. As a result, he now also experiences unpredictable bouts of anxiety with severe depression and mental confusion.

All of this has made it increasingly difficult for him to work and function day to day. Often making even the most mundane activities burdensome.

Recent events have also made the possibility of another stroke or heart attack that much more likely, necessitating the need for near-constant care and monitoring.

Three years of mounting medical bills with no end in sight plus an expanding array of doctor visits and pharmaceuticals along with the costs associated with a homebound life so reliant upon others are the primary reasons for the urgency of this fundraiser. So as we begin this new and potentially frightening phase of his illness, with all it's uncertainty, I would like to make an appeal on behalf of John and his loved ones.

Please consider donating whatever you can to

help my dear friend and if you can, please share this link with your friends and family.

Thank you most sincerely for your support and assistance. Any donation, no matter how small, will make a huge difference.