Hello, my name is Diana Spears. My son Steven Spears is in critical condition at St. Mary’s hospital. Steven became sick in December 2022. He went to the hospital where he was (mis)diagnosed with a kidney stone and discharged without any tests being done. It was later discovered that he didn’t have a kidney stone by his primary doctor but nothing more was done. On January 8th, 2023 Steven was in so much pain and vomiting that he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where they pushed him out to the ER waiting room where he sat for over 5 hours while his bowels were dying from a ruptured hernia. He underwent a 7 hour emergency surgery to save his bowel and repair the hernia. After staying in the hospital 11 days he was discharged and managed once a week by home healthcare.

For 3 weeks Steven suffered extreme pain, unable to function and was unable to eat. On Saturday, February 4th Steven was found in his bed shaking as if he was having a seizure and he was pale white. 911 was called and he was again rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital where he was found to be septic from a perforated bowel. He underwent another 8 hour surgery to remove 112cm of his small intestines that were necrotic (dead) and to deal with the infection that had filled his abdomen and affected other organs. He has been in ICU on life support ever since. He is unable to breathe for himself and his heart may have suffered damage from the infection. On Wednesday, February 8th Steven underwent a 3rd surgery to remove dead tissue caused from the infection and the surgeons are leaving his vertical stomach incision open with a VAC to pull out more infection.

Steven is the only child I have left. I have already lost my daughter. All I have left is Steven, his sons and Donna who has fought for his care since this began. Steven has a long road to recovery. His surgeon said that on Monday he gave Steven very little hope of coming out of this. Through prayers and persistence, Steven is slowly fighting his way back but he is still very critical.

We are going to need assistance with medical expenses and preparing the home for his transition after discharge. His insurance is limited. He will be in the hospital for weeks to come. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Love and prayers,

Diana