**Updated** Support Steve Wevick's Heart Surgery Recovery Journey
My name is Darin Scheff and I am asking for help for my brother-in-law Steve Wevick to pay medical bills and living expenses during his long recovery back to health. He has been out of work since he was hospitalized in November 2024, and has a backlog of bills to pay, both medical and living expenses.
His heart transplant has been delayed, see below for more.
let’s try and help him out with some finances.
**Update** Steve Wevick, 53, husband, father to 2 children, and a disabled veteran, is recovering from both LVAD and Impella surgeries to keep him alive. He had a meeting with one of his doctors the week of May 1, and long-term plans have now changed He had emergency surgery in November and December due to End Stage Heart Failure. Our goal is to raise $75,000 to pay all his medical bills and living expenses, while reducing his stress so he can recover faster. He is hoping to return to work by September, however as a Mortgage Manager he will probably not be able to build back to receiving commissions until year end.
The new plan is to postpone a heart transplant until it becomes necessary, hopefully not for another 10-15 years, while continuing to use the LVAD to keep his heart pumping. Then, get a heart transplant, and extend his life hopefully for another 10-15 years. Steve’s goal is see his children grow up and eventually see his grandchildren and enjoying life with his wife, the love of his life. While the length and quality of life are estimated, his medical team has now had long enough to monitor him on the LVAD that they can recommend this course of treatment and postpone transplant as long as possible.
Steve is a devoted husband and father, with one away at college and one in middle school.
Although he has been in Heart Failure since 2020, having survived a heart attack and double bypass in 2013, Steve started going downhill in early summer last year and entered the hospital in mid-November with less than 13% Heart Function. Between high mortgage rates and decreasing health, his income dropped drastically. He is currently receiving a small stipend from Disabled Veteran Benefits and short-term disability from his employer, which ends in this month. His wife is his primary caretaker and is not working at present as Steve requires full-time care during his recovery.
Although Steve’s sister-in-law did an emergency fund raiser when Steve first entered the hospital, that was to cover the short term needs only until we knew what the future held. Steve and his family have been blessed that insurance has paid the majority of his almost
$2,000,000 medical bills, but there are still balances and the bills are still coming in and will for the rest of his life, but we’re just trying to get him healed, bills paid, and back to work.
For those of you who need more information, an LVAD(Left Ventricle Assist Device) is an implanted heart pump, which pumps the blood out of the heart and through the body if your heart is no longer able to do so. This is a portable device, which allows you to live a fairly normal life with some limitations. It is a gift of longer life. You are required to carry the control box and 2 batteries, which connect via a driveline into your body and connect to the pump. You also carry backup batteries with you everywhere you go. You normally hook up
to regular electric at night while the batteries recharge.
The Impella is an in-hospital device that does not require as major of a surgery and is often used to bridge the patient until they are able to receive a LVAD or a Heart Transplant. Patients refer to it as an “Impaler” since the device is inserted near the shoulder and via a tube connects across the chest, and is not only very painful, but takes months to recover from.
Recovery is a minimum of 6 - 8 months, or up to a year or more, depending on a lot of factors, and Steve has suffered a couple of setbacks from infection and flu. We are praying for total healing of Steve’s heart, which is possible, but according to the doctors, not likely. But we know Jesus.
We thank you in advance and will be grateful for anything you can contribute. We know it’s a lot of money. We also covet your prayers for complete recovery. And if you feel so led, please share this with your friends. Every little bit helps. Thank you in advance for reading
this and may God bless you all.