Friday April 30th, my husband Don came home from work, so short of breath he could barely get in the front door. After going to urgent care in Bangor with shortness of breath, high resting heart rate, and incredibly high blood pressure, an EKG was performed and we were immediately sent to the emergency room at Northern Light.

In the ER, a CT scan showed multiple blood clots in both of his lungs. Blood work and EKG showed he was also having a heart attack. He was then admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit. The decision was made to do the EKOS procedure in an attempt to break up the blood clots. This was a VERY risky and expensive procedure, necessitated by the right side of his heart failing. The EKOS procedure is done in the cardiac cath lab. This often causes a stroke, but without it, Don would have certainly died.

He spent 3 nights in CCU receiving further treatment and close monitoring and care. Twice, his blood pressure crashed, requiring Atropine and further intervention.

This lifesaving treatment and the multitude of prayers saved his life, but this level of care is VERY expensive.

My husband is self employed. He is a “one man show” in his optometry practice where he has been caring for his patients for more than thirty years. In the state of Maine, the self employed cannot shop across state lines for affordable insurance. The premiums are simply not affordable. It’s not that we don’t want health insurance. It’s that we CANNOT afford it. Don has cared for three generations of people and now it’s his turn to be cared for. This is very hard for him and he doesn’t even know that I and our daughters are asking for help. There’s no way to pay what bills have already come in; let alone get him the treatment he needs to keep him alive. Without help, I honestly don’t know what we will do.

Eventually, Don was discharged on several medications. One of those medications, a blood thinner, is also unaffordable without insurance. He still has a clot in his leg and his blood pressure is still too high, despite the medications. He needs further testing and care going forward. He will need an echocardiogram, blood work, scans and testing, along with consults and follow up from a urologist, cardiologist, and new primary care physician. We are currently trying to find him some health insurance so that we can proceed with all that is needed to determine where the blood clots are coming from and treat accordingly.

As it stands we currently are waiting for more testing going forward to see what caused the blood clots, but he needs insurance before we can proceed. The upcoming tests are going to add even greater expense. These tests are extremely time sensitive. A possible cause of the clots and heart failure is AAA (Abdominal Aortic Aneurism). Another possible cause could be prostate cancer, which runs in the family and would be another huge, and ongoing expense.

The need for funds is incredibly time sensitive as well. If paid quickly, we could save $20,000 on just one of the several medical bills. Don is never the kind of man to ask anybody, for anything. He has spent his entire life serving others in all ways. All of his patients, family and friends can attest to this. If you know him, you know how kind he is, and has always been. He is the definition of selfless. In this case, we are asking for as much as you can give, and for constant prayers. Anything helps. Thank you and God bless you