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Hello everyone. It's with great apprehension that I put together this GoFundMe. Apprehension because on Tuesday, March 26th, my husband of 28 years will be headed into a life-saving open-heart surgery. It's still beyond difficult for me to believe.
In 2017, alongside another life changing family crisis with our youngest daughter, we found out that Jim was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve or BAV. Unfortunately, it was also found to be severely calcified. I can not tell you how surreal it all felt. I mean this is Jim we're talking about, he's beyond healthy, in amazing shape! How could this be? These were just some of the thoughts I was having. He went under observation every 6 months. The fear of "what ifs" was difficult to process.
What seems like the blink of an eye, we have now come to the time where the valve must be replaced to save his life. In the last 30 days we have been hustled through procedures and appointments in order to get setup for the surgery. Our family has been under incredible stress during this time and yet Jim kept going.
Jim and I have spent countless hours attempting to figure out how we would handle it, how we would handle our business, what would it do in terms of having to put our clients off, would people wait for us. What would the costs of surgery be, how would we manage it. My focus had been on our youngest daughter, working part-time and supporting our business as well as my older daughter, also very affected by what had been happening to our family since 2017.
For Jim, surgery will be done via a Mini-Sternectomy. He will spend between 2 and 3 days in ICU and then be moved to a regular room where he will spend another 2 days or so recovering. Once home he will need approximately 6 - 8 weeks to continue his recovery with no driving and no lifting anything over 10 lbs. Incredible advancements have been made to this type of surgery, but there are serious risks in stopping the heart, working on it and re-starting it. Not to mentioned the discomfort in cutting through the sternum to perform this work.
The funds we are asking for will be applied towards the hospital bills. Although we have insurance, it's coverage for our family is minimal and leaves us very vulnerable to high deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. These funds will help Jim to focus on his recovery and relieve the stress associated with him being out of work for an extended period of time.
For those of you who know Jim, you know he lives with his heart on his sleeve. His passion for helping others is inspirational. As his wife I have watched him give of himself tirelessly and still come home to us, support us and love us as his family. As the main provider of our family this journey to knowing he won't be able to work has been very difficult for him. We are very grateful for any contribution, even if it's prayers for his speedy and safe recovery.
We know first hand that others are not safe from life and the struggles it brings. Bringing our story forward and asking for help is something we struggled with. We have managed to pay for all the medical costs up to this point, but the surgery and recovery time will be the most difficult for us.
From my heart and the heart of my family, we thank you...we thank you for any contribution or just sharing our story. This is something we will always remember and be incredible grateful for.
In Gratitude,
The Higgs Family
In 2017, alongside another life changing family crisis with our youngest daughter, we found out that Jim was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve or BAV. Unfortunately, it was also found to be severely calcified. I can not tell you how surreal it all felt. I mean this is Jim we're talking about, he's beyond healthy, in amazing shape! How could this be? These were just some of the thoughts I was having. He went under observation every 6 months. The fear of "what ifs" was difficult to process.
What seems like the blink of an eye, we have now come to the time where the valve must be replaced to save his life. In the last 30 days we have been hustled through procedures and appointments in order to get setup for the surgery. Our family has been under incredible stress during this time and yet Jim kept going.
Jim and I have spent countless hours attempting to figure out how we would handle it, how we would handle our business, what would it do in terms of having to put our clients off, would people wait for us. What would the costs of surgery be, how would we manage it. My focus had been on our youngest daughter, working part-time and supporting our business as well as my older daughter, also very affected by what had been happening to our family since 2017.
For Jim, surgery will be done via a Mini-Sternectomy. He will spend between 2 and 3 days in ICU and then be moved to a regular room where he will spend another 2 days or so recovering. Once home he will need approximately 6 - 8 weeks to continue his recovery with no driving and no lifting anything over 10 lbs. Incredible advancements have been made to this type of surgery, but there are serious risks in stopping the heart, working on it and re-starting it. Not to mentioned the discomfort in cutting through the sternum to perform this work.
The funds we are asking for will be applied towards the hospital bills. Although we have insurance, it's coverage for our family is minimal and leaves us very vulnerable to high deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. These funds will help Jim to focus on his recovery and relieve the stress associated with him being out of work for an extended period of time.
For those of you who know Jim, you know he lives with his heart on his sleeve. His passion for helping others is inspirational. As his wife I have watched him give of himself tirelessly and still come home to us, support us and love us as his family. As the main provider of our family this journey to knowing he won't be able to work has been very difficult for him. We are very grateful for any contribution, even if it's prayers for his speedy and safe recovery.
We know first hand that others are not safe from life and the struggles it brings. Bringing our story forward and asking for help is something we struggled with. We have managed to pay for all the medical costs up to this point, but the surgery and recovery time will be the most difficult for us.
From my heart and the heart of my family, we thank you...we thank you for any contribution or just sharing our story. This is something we will always remember and be incredible grateful for.
In Gratitude,
The Higgs Family