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Jeff Owens’ Medical Misfortunes In support of Jeff Owens

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My dad’s name is Jeff Owens. He is 47 years old. He is a wonderful man who has never met a stranger. He’s always willing to help those in need in any way he can. As of April 2012, he will have been married to my mom, Perri Lisa Owens, for 30 years. He has two daughters, Samantha (28) and Rebecka (26). He lives in Eastern Tennessee.

My dad has been suffering from multiple hernias for the last 10 years. His current ailments are as follows: multiple hernias throughout his stomach and sides, scar tissue that frames every organ in his stomach, organs in the wrong areas of his stomach, weakening of his colon, etc. He is often unable to live a normal life due to the effects of these medical conditions. He can’t sleep in his own bed because it is too uncomfortable for his stomach. He can’t hold out to work on his vehicles anymore. He can’t do many of the things he used to do without intense, unbearable pain.

Most of these problems are due to previous hernia surgeries that were done poorly by a surgeon who was not qualified to do what needed to be done in the correct way.

Until recently, we were not able to find a surgeon who was willing to and qualified to operate on his stomach as it is today. We have now found a surgeon in Florida who is willing to gather a team to perform the surgeries necessary to correct his medical conditions! This is outstanding news after years of disappointing visits with surgeons! It is possible that it may take a few surgeries to fix everything that’s wrong, but at least we found a surgeon who’s willing to do this!

After a recent examination & consultation visit with the surgeon in FL, Dad learned that he will have to go on a 6 week liquid protein diet before the first surgery. During the surgery, they will remove all of the organs in his stomach, remove the scar tissue from them, repair the hernias, rebuild his abdominal walls, and put all of his organs back into their proper places. The will also remove his appendix and a portion of his colon so they’ll have more room to work in his stomach. He will be put on a ventilator in ICU after the surgery and they will monitor the pressure in his stomach while he’s on the ventilator. When his pressure stabilizes, they will stitch him back up and let him continue to heal.

While Dad does have insurance that will be covering a great deal of this surgery my parents still have an out-of-pocket maximum of $10,000 (and that’s just for their share of the doctor bills)! Also, my Mom will have to miss several weeks of work while Dad is in surgery and ICU in Florida. They will incur medical expenses, travel expenses, and their everyday expenses while Mom is unable to work. While my sister and I are helping as much as we can, neither of us can help as much as we’d like to. Any donation and/or words of support for my parents in their time of need would be very much appreciated by everyone in our family.

Thank you,

Rebecka (Becky) Owens