Sharon's B.A.R.S. Surgery Fund
Donation protected
On January 27, 2015 my mother Sharon Woodfield will be going in for BARs Surgery . There are only a small handful of doctors who perform this surgery. She is lucky enough to have the doctor who invented the BARs Procedure to perform it. Unfortunately, he does not take Medicare and requires a payment of $20,000.00. Being Medicare is her primary insurance and he does not participate, her secondary will not cover the surgery. We have even contacted Medicare to ask if we can submit the claim ourselves, being he does not participate they said no.
A Brief History:
Several months ago mom went to her general surgeon for yet another hernia. He said it was much too dangerous and he would not operate on her again. This will be her 4th operation for hernia's. He recommended her to a specialist who has invented this BARs surgery he felt she would be a good candidate for.
She made the appointment and went to meet the new surgeon. After a review of her medical history and a brief physical exam he felt she was a good candidate also. He did explain he does not accept Medicare but they could work something out. He gave her a few things to accomplish before he would perform the surgery one being to lose 50 pounds. She has and is still losing! We are very proud of her. Second was to get clearance from all of her other doctors.
She received clearance right away from her primary doctor and endocrinologist. Her cardiologist gave her a stress test, which lead to her going for a catheterization. Once the catheterization came back good, she received her clearance from her cardiologist. Final clearance came from her pulmonologist. Being she has COPD with only 47% lung capacity they are worried that this surgery may put too much pressure on her lungs. The doctor knowing the alternative of what could happen if she does not have this surgery has given clearance and will be available if needed the day of.
The surgery which was aimed to take place last fall had been held off as long as possible being she was doing so well with the weight loss. The more weight mom loses the better her chances of having less complications during the surgery and after. At her last exam her doctor now feels it is time and cannot hold off any longer. Her hernia which is a little smaller then the size of a soccer ball is intertwining with her intestines Without this surgery the hernia will suffocate her intestines and kill her.
The Surgery:
The day of surgery there will be 3 surgeons working on her. (Thankfully the other two do take Medicare). The surgery will be anywhere from 4-8 hours if all goes well. The first surgeon will be placing a filter in her to catch any blood clots. The second and third surgeons; one is the surgeon who will be performing the BARs procedure. The other is her general surgeon who will be "rearranging" her intestines and removing some if needed. The recovery will be long and slow.
Mom retired from the Wall Township School system several years ago where she worked for 27 years. She is a loving wife and a mother of 2 grown kids. She loves all her family and friends and will jump at the chance to help others when she can.
A Brief History:
Several months ago mom went to her general surgeon for yet another hernia. He said it was much too dangerous and he would not operate on her again. This will be her 4th operation for hernia's. He recommended her to a specialist who has invented this BARs surgery he felt she would be a good candidate for.
She made the appointment and went to meet the new surgeon. After a review of her medical history and a brief physical exam he felt she was a good candidate also. He did explain he does not accept Medicare but they could work something out. He gave her a few things to accomplish before he would perform the surgery one being to lose 50 pounds. She has and is still losing! We are very proud of her. Second was to get clearance from all of her other doctors.
She received clearance right away from her primary doctor and endocrinologist. Her cardiologist gave her a stress test, which lead to her going for a catheterization. Once the catheterization came back good, she received her clearance from her cardiologist. Final clearance came from her pulmonologist. Being she has COPD with only 47% lung capacity they are worried that this surgery may put too much pressure on her lungs. The doctor knowing the alternative of what could happen if she does not have this surgery has given clearance and will be available if needed the day of.
The surgery which was aimed to take place last fall had been held off as long as possible being she was doing so well with the weight loss. The more weight mom loses the better her chances of having less complications during the surgery and after. At her last exam her doctor now feels it is time and cannot hold off any longer. Her hernia which is a little smaller then the size of a soccer ball is intertwining with her intestines Without this surgery the hernia will suffocate her intestines and kill her.
The Surgery:
The day of surgery there will be 3 surgeons working on her. (Thankfully the other two do take Medicare). The surgery will be anywhere from 4-8 hours if all goes well. The first surgeon will be placing a filter in her to catch any blood clots. The second and third surgeons; one is the surgeon who will be performing the BARs procedure. The other is her general surgeon who will be "rearranging" her intestines and removing some if needed. The recovery will be long and slow.
Mom retired from the Wall Township School system several years ago where she worked for 27 years. She is a loving wife and a mother of 2 grown kids. She loves all her family and friends and will jump at the chance to help others when she can.
Organizer
Lisa Rios
Organizer
Belmar, NJ
