Leon Vander Esch medical expenses

In March 2018, our dad, Leon Vander Esch, suffered an ascending aortic dissection. Thanks to the team at Avera Heart Hospital, Leon survived what could have been a fatal episode. In 2022, he learned that one of the new valves was leaking and would need to be replaced. On August 10, Leon underwent surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, almost 300 miles from his home in Watertown, SD. The expected recovery time from that surgery was two weeks. After the surgery, he had a blood clot in his spinal cord. The result of that clot was the loss of function in both of his legs. Since that day in August, Leon has been in Minnesota, both in the Mayo Hospital and in a rehabilitation clinic, regaining the use of his legs, away from his home and his small business, Leon’s Cleaning Service.

On January 20th, Leon will finally come home to Watertown, but not in the way we had hoped. He will be in a wheelchair for quite some time and will need assistance with all aspects of daily living. For a fiercely independent person, this is going to be a huge adjustment.

This GoFundMe is raising funds for Leon to purchase a wheelchair-accessible van for transportation, mobility and accessibility equipment to allow him to live safely in his own home, and to help offset medical bills. Leon has been a small business owner in Watertown for close to 40 years. He has not been able to work while he was in Minnesota and it is highly unlikely that he will be able to return any time soon. This whole experience has been a severe financial hardship for a hardworking member of his community.