Helping Meghan and her family through her surgical recovery

It is so incredibly hard to ask for help, but as a last resort, I'm reaching out to my family and friends for assistance. To understand how I got to where I am now, I feel I must start at the beginning, so please bear with me.

**Trigger warning for those with a weak stomach**

As some of you may know, in November of 2023 I underwent surgery on my stomach, esophagus and small bowel in Pittsburgh. An anticipated 3-4 hour surgery ended up being nearly 14 hours, a stint in the ICU and over a month long stay in the hospital. One week out from surgery I developed a severe infection. I was taken back to the OR emergently. My abdomen was reopened, cleaned, debrided and I was then left completely open with a wound vac for over four months. After being discharged the first time, I was readmitted multiple times, twice being for over 30 days each. I was unable to tolerate any food or water, not even a sip without vomiting. Ultimately, I was finally discharged on a feeding tube and with home healthcare for my gaping abdominal wound. The feeding tube really messed with my mental health. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been through it, but the only way I can describe it is as though it was completely unnatural and not supposed to be there. I hated everything about it. The look, the feeling, the smell, the taste, the care and cleaning I had to do for the hole in my abdomen. Being tethered to an IV pole for 18 hours a day for feedings. It was hell, pure hell. I embellished (well, pretty much flat out lied) at how “well” I was doing to my doctors to get that damn thing out. I couldn’t take it anymore. I finally got the tube removed and was making small strides in being able to keep food and liquid down on my own. I got maybe three weeks in of feeling like I was heading in the right direction. Gaining strength and feeling better a little each day.

If you know me, you know that life is just never that simple for me. I began having pain in my abdomen and started to get sick after eating and drinking again. I then discovered a huge hernia in my abdomen. I contacted my surgeons in Pittsburgh who ordered a CT scan. Not even an hour after leaving the scan, I received a call from Pittsburgh stating my bowel was incarcerated in the hernia and they told me I needed to rush to the ER to be stabilized and then they’d have me transported back down to Pittsburgh. After waiting for hours without even being taken back from the waiting room (good ole Hamot), we drove ourselves down to Pittsburgh and I was admitted immediately when I walked in. After additional testing, we decided it was best to go to Cleveland for the repair as Pittsburgh didn’t seem confident in their ability to deal with such a huge defect (or as the Cleveland Clinic described it- a “giant hernia.”). Yes, I guess that’s a technical term. Long story short, I had surgery in Cleveland to repair the giant hernia. My entire abdomen is now mesh- 12” x 12“. I had post-op complications there as well (thank you, autoimmune disease). I ended up back in the hospital with an infection and had to be admitted for a week on IV antibiotics. This whole 9+ month ordeal was extremely hard on my husband, my kids and my family who supported us emotionally, physically and even financially during this unimaginable time. I worked so hard to regain my strength and bounce back as fast as I could. Not long after I got out of the hospital for the last time, a job at the City of Erie caught my eye. I wasn’t sure I was ready to return to the work force given all I’d been through, but I knew my family needed this…I needed this. I got the job and started in December 2024.

I never really felt 100% but fully expected my recovery to continue to take a long time given all I’d been through. Through all of this, my dad got sick and as one of his primary caregivers, I had done a lot of heavy lifting that I probably shouldn’t have. I started to have worsening pain in my abdomen and contacted my hernia surgeon worried that I had injured what they had repaired. After imaging, I got a call that the hernia was fine, but I needed to contact my cardiothoracic surgeon in Pittsburgh ASAP. Which brings us to now…

That scan showed a problem with my stomach/bowel- a chronic dilation of the biliary limb- an obstruction more or less that is not letting anything pass through or if so, it’s moving very slowly, making me sick. There is a concern/risk of perforation, which would be very serious and lead to sepsis. After months of worsening symptoms (pain, nausea and vomiting) and numerous testing and consulting with my physicians, I now know that I need another surgery- a major surgery. They have to go back in and basically reconstruct my stomach and small bowel, now complicated by an abdomen full of mesh. There will be three “teams” operating on me. Cardiothoracic surgeons, gastrointestinal surgeons and the head of general surgery. To say I am scared, stressed and overwhelmed is an understatement. The surgery will be in Pittsburgh and I will be in the hospital “a while” (whatever that means). I will also be on a feeding tube immediately and my diet will be advanced very slowly.

I have not been at my job for a full year and therefore I do not qualify for FMLA. I do qualify for short term disability, which will help, but after taxes, it will barely cover my insurance contributions that I have to continue to make while I’m off of work to keep my insurance for my family active. My husband works full-time but the thought of losing my income for 8-12 weeks (praying there are no complications this time) is terrifying with the rising costs of everything. The worry I feel about this surgery is tremendous, but adding the worry of the bills getting paid, my kids having enough food and everything being taken care of in my absence is so overwhelming.

Asking for help is really hard. These past couple years have been really hard for us and with the help of our wonderful family, we’ve somehow managed to make it through. If you’re able to help in any way, I don’t think I could ever truly express how incredibly grateful I am.

Any donations received will go towards supplementing my husband’s income to maintain our monthly bills (rent, car, insurance, utilities, car insurance, groceries etc.), and travel expenses (gas and lodging) for my family to come to Pittsburgh while I’m admitted.

If you’re unable to donate, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for much a smoother recovery this time around.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am blessed to be surrounded by amazing friends and family.

With love and gratitude,

Meghan Winkler