In January 2011, Todd Welch went to the Urgent Care, complaining about stomach pains.  He was sent home by doctors who diagnosed him with the flu.  Within a matter of hours, he was rushed back to the ER, this time with burst appendix and colon.  His first major surgery was to remove his ruptured appendix and most of his colon. Since then he has had to have subsequent surgeries to create a stoma and install an ileostomy bag.  He’s had to have a reversal surgery; major hernia surgeries; and has had to have the mesh that was being used to hold his insides in place repaired. 


Add in several hospital stays related to his condition, On top of all of these complications and fixes, the doctors diagnosed Todd as a diabetic.  Since then Todd hasn’t really had a normal, healthy day. All of these events have made it very difficult to return to a normal life of work and has made it a challenge to keep his health under control. Since May of this year, he has been off of work because his job required more of him physically than what he was capable of providing with his health.



Anyone who has known Todd knows that he won’t complain about all the trials he has faced- he knows other people have it worse and will always try to help someone when he can. Recently he was there to help his extended family clean up after the "Great Flood of 2015" in Millbury. Never once complaining about the pain he is in every day. He has been the Assistant Football Coach at Northwood and has reached out to so many kids and continually tries to make a positive impact in their lives. These physical obstacles he faces have not stopped him from treating us like his family. It hasn’t deterred him from trying to brighten other peoples’ day. He’s risen to the occasion for many of us and has helped us even when we don’t want to ask for it. We have all been blessed to call him a friend; he’s welcomed us in his home; he’s offered a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear; and has encouraged us to strive to improve ourselves.

 Here is where we come in! He is way too sweet to think about the potential burden it would be to us and ask us for help, so that’s why we just decided we’d skip the step of him asking and help him out! He has been blessed to see a world renown surgeon at Cleveland Clinic and will be undergoing an intense total revision surgery on September 29th. His stay at the hospital will be a minimum of 5 days with 3 months of difficult recovery after. During his recovery (and with being off work), he will need help with living expenses and covering bills for a 6 month period, plus medical bills and the continued cost of medical insurance. We know his needs are not small and that everyone has their own financial responsibilities, however, he’s not truly gotten the help that he needs and this is his chance! This is the opportunity he has to return as close as possible to the life he had before this; to get his health under control; and to enjoy many of the activities that he has had to miss out on. Please consider giving to his cause- please help him the way he has so selflessly helped us and give him a chance to get a surgery that he doesn’t need to reconsider due to insufficient funds. Let’s show Todd how much we are rooting for him and how much we care about him recovering and getting back to a comfortable life!