Support for Shane's healthy recovery

I am starting this fundraiser to help my brother and his family in the upcoming months. At birth, Shane was diagnosed with a heart murmur. This has been monitored all his life, and in the last couple of years, he has had significant testing done. He was found to have a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart defect causing severe aortic stenosis. He has remained healthy and was always told there would come a time in which he would require surgery to have it corrected. Well, that time has come sooner than he ever expected, and he will require surgery at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago on August 22. During his testing, it was also found that he has an aortic aneurysm that will be corrected at the same time.

He will be undergoing "The Ross Procedure" which is open heart surgery, replacing the aortic valve with a pulmonary valve and replacing the pulmonary valve with a cadaver valve. With surgery, he will be in the hospital in Chicago for 5-10 days and then off work for approximately 6 months. This is going to put a huge financial burden on him and his family.

Shane's main occupation is in agriculture and unfortunately, that does not offer a short or long-term disability plan. As I said, he was told eventually he would need surgery but was expecting it to be in approximately 10 years, so he did not have time to prepare.

Shane has spent his entire adult life donating his time to help better his community. He serves as the Deputy Fire Chief for the Colfax Fire Department, is the EMA director for Colfax, a Martin Township Trustee, an EMT, and is also on the Colfax Restoration Board.

He has 2 young children at home and I want him to be concerned with recovery and not this financial burden.

If you are able, any donation would be greatly appreciated. The funds collected will help with lost wages from being off work, medical bills, hotel stays for his wife Grace, fuel money to get back and forth to Chicago while he is there and the multiple post-op visits he will have following surgery, babysitting expenses, etc.

I thank everyone in advance for their generosity. My hope is to make this a little bit less stressful for him and his family and provide time to heal physically and emotionally.

Blythe Carroll, Shane's older sister