Bernie & Kelli Plourde

Hello everybody! We opened this page up for our children, Bernard and Kelli Plourde. Bernard is the son of John and Debra Plourde, and Kelli is the daughter of Tim and Sharon Hamilton.
For those of you who know Bernie and Kelli you know that they are both hard working and are dedicated to the work they do with children. Also they are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and are excited to eventually start a family of their own. They both really enjoy being with their friends and families and are always lending a hand or providing positive words for anyone in need.
This past year has been a long road for them and a lot of things have happened causing medical bills to build up. Kelli took a bad fall this past November resulting in a break of her tibia and her ligament became disconnected in her knee. She was out of work from November to the middle of April and in that time she required two surgeries. Also during this time Bernard had several small incidents which put him out of work at different times.
Recently Bernard became ill and was in and out of the emergency room several times within a week’s time. He was experiencing a high fever on and off and severe pain in his back and abdomen. After several days, he ended going to another hospital where they realized something more severe was going on. They contacted Maine Medical, in Portland, ME where has had previous heart procedures. The medical team indicated that he needed to be transported there to have different tests, so they could figure out what was going on. Testing revealed that Bernard has a very severe infection that affected his heart.
He had to have surgery on Tuesday, May 30th to replace one of his heart valves that was destroyed from the infection. The surgery went well but the following day Bernard’s cardiologist told us that his EKG was irregular which meant that there could still be a blockage in his heart. On Thursday the team took him in for a procedure in which they use a catheter to look at his heart for blockages. They found a blockage in one of his arteries. This means that he may have to have another surgery before he is on his way to recovery.
Bernard will remain in the hospital for at least two more weeks and then a home recovery for at least 8 weeks. Because of this infection he had a PIC line put in and will continue to be on intravenous antibiotics at home for at least 8 weeks.
Bernie has been out of work since May 15th and will not being going back to work till at least July. Donations toward medical expenses will be greatly appreciated. If you would rather donate in person you can call John and Deb, or Tim and Sharon. Please share this message, we truly appreciate all of your help and kind words.
Thank you!