Help Shane Smith Heal After Life-Saving Surgery

Hello, my name is Meagan Smith. On April 21, 2025, my husband Shane Smith had to have surgery to repair a hiatal hernia, which is when part of the stomach pushes up through the diaphragm muscle. He was in surgery for three hours and stayed one night in the hospital. He came home the next day, and over the next week and a half, he didn't show any improvement and started feeling worse.

I took him to the hospital on May 3, where they did tests, bloodwork, and a CT scan. That's when they found he had a major infection in his chest. The hernia had ruptured and tore through his diaphragm and went into his left lung, which caused liquid to fill his lung and turn into pneumonia. It also caused his left lung to collapse and pushed his heart over towards his armpit. He was life-flighted to OHSU in Portland, where he underwent a four-hour emergency surgery to drain the fluid, remove the infection, and repair all the other damage and pull his stomach back down. The surgery went well, but he has a long recovery ahead.

He has multiple incisions, two chest tubes that have to stay in a few more days, and a feeding tube for six weeks. We don't like asking for help, but we have no other options as this was all unexpected. We know times are tough for everyone, and we understand if you can't help. Even sharing this would be a tremendous help.

We are asking for help to cover rent and bills for the time Shane will be out of work and also help with gas and food for me to travel back and forth while he's at OHSU. We appreciate you taking the time to read this. Anything at all will help and also take some of the stress off of us. Thank you in advance.