Help Corn Heal Right After Open Heart Surgery

If you know Corn, you probably know him from the Bay Area bike scene — 17 years around, always down to help, and the go-to photographer/videographer for the community along the way. But no matter how you know him, right now he needs support, and we're hoping his people (and yours) can show up for him.

What's Happening

A few days ago Corn ended up in the ER. What they found was serious: he has an ascending aortic aneurysm — the section of his aorta closest to his heart has weakened and ballooned out to 5.6cm,

well past the 5cm–5.5cm threshold that makes surgery an immediate necessity rather than a “watch and wait” situation. Left alone, an aneurysm this size carries a real risk of tearing or rupturing, which

is life-threatening.

The surgery is open-heart: they'll open his chest, place him on a heart-lung bypass machine to take over circulation, remove the weakened section of the aorta, and sew in a synthetic graft to rebuild it. Because of how large this aneurysm is, and because he's an ironworker who does heavy physical work, they're also reinforcing the repair with mesh and adding a protective plate over the area to guard against the demands of his job going forward.

Because of how severe the dilation is, they won't let a regular surgeon touch him. The head cardiologist is flying back from Russia, and Corn is being prepped this week with surgery expected Friday or Saturday. It's the right call — we want the best hands on him — but it also means a long, hard week of waiting.

Why We Need Help

Recovery from surgery like this is a long road. He won't be able to do much on his own for at least the first month, and he'll be on modified work duty for months after — no job cushions a stretch like that,

especially with medical costs stacking up at the same time.

We're not asking for much. We're asking for $4,500–$5,000 to help cover:

• Medical costs not covered by insurance

• Post-surgery recovery essentials and basic living expenses

• The financial gap that comes with an extended recovery

Why We're Asking

Corn isn't someone who asks for help easily. This is us asking on his behalf. Whether you know him from the bike scene, from work, or just know someone who needs a hand right now — any amount helps, and so does a share.

I'll be posting updates right here on this GoFundMe page, and once he's stable and up for it, he'll share updates himself on his IG @cornbruh_