Help Mark with medical bills & time off from work

Hi my name is Debbie and I am setting up this go fund me account to help my ex husband with medical expenses and time off from work for an upcoming surgery. You probably don’t hear this much, but my ex husband Mark is one of the best men I have ever known. He is and has always been a hard-working, down-to-earth, smart and simple man who has been the best father to our son, who is now 33 years old. I had a daughter after our divorce and he has been more of a father to her than her own. His only son, his grandkids, and his dogs are what keeps him going.

Mark is a strong man who has always been in good health until February, 2021. He suddenly developed difficulty breathing and went to the ER for evaluation and treatment. While being given a breathing treatment, he went into atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm that causes the two upper chambers of his heart to quiver, resulting in a much faster heart rate, ineffective pumping, and the development of clots in the heart. This places him at a high risk for stroke as if he does get a good, normal beat of his heart, one of these clots can go to his brain resulting in a stroke. He has since been hospitalized four times and remains in atrial fibrillation at all times, as most people go in and out of this rhythm. He is now in congestive heart failure and they are in the process of scheduling surgery. He works as a pipefitter and did not have health insurance for his initial visits, treatment or any of these admissions and the cost of a single medication is about $600 with him requiring about 10 different medications at all times to manage his condition. He has continued to work through all this.

He has since gotten insurance and is facing a surgery to convert his heart rhythm back to normal which will be followed by a few days in ICU, about a week in the hospital then recovery at home. He will not be able to return to work for at least 4 weeks, barring any complications. His medical bills have already exceeded $150,000 and he is doing his best to pay something every month to each of the providers he owes. He needs to focus on his recovery but is worried about the unpaid bills and how he will be able to manage basic expenses while unable to work, as he has already drained his savings and liquidated what assets he had. Please, anything you can donate will help Mark get through this, stronger than ever! All funds will go toward his medical expenses and basic needs while off from work recovering from surgery.