Frank and his family received some unexpected health news in Feb 2026. Frank has a genetic condition with one of his heart valves where he has two leaflets (bicuspid) instead of three (tricuspid). Because of this condition and it being unknown for his whole life (36 years), he now has a leaky valve with a significant leak. This has caused his left heart ventricle to become much larger than it should be, which is not good and has caused heart failure, operating at 35%. Frank has started steps to become healthier, such as dieting and exercising more. So far, he has lost 23 lbs. The heart surgeon would like him to get down to 180 lbs. He has a good team of doctors working on his care. Frank met with his heart surgeon on March 27th, and they presented him with his options, which were positive but also shared unexpected news. Frank will need open-heart surgery to replace the two valves in his heart. The doctor cannot know for sure if this will fix the left ventricle issue. The doctor could see an improvement immediately while in the surgery, or it could be a process to see improvement. If that does not work, the doctor has informed Frank he will need a heart transplant after that surgery or down the road if the valves do not fix the left ventricle or not enough. Next steps for Frank are:
- See the advanced heart failure team and have a metabolic stress test completed, which would show the doctors how well he should do with recovery.
- Frank also needs a left and right cath test. After those tests and visits, Frank should be scheduled for open-heart surgery.
As you can only imagine, Frank and his family are worried and scared. However, Frank has trust in God and a huge support system. All these tests, procedures, and surgeries bring a significant burden of bills. Which have already started to build since Feb. While Frank has health insurance, the out-of-pocket costs are a lot for this family.
Frank will also be in the hospital in Detroit for approximately one week and have a potential recovery time frame of 8-12 weeks. That means Frank and his family will lose his income from work for a lengthy time. Frank, sadly, is not eligible for short or long-term disability due to it being a preexisting condition. There will also be the cost of Nik needing and wanting to be close by for Frank while he is in the hospital in Detroit for lodging and food.
We are asking if you can help Frank and his family. Please make a contribution. All funds will go to Frank during this new health journey.