Help JJ & Ashley Benson relieve financial burden

On Saturday, October 14th, JJ was feeling unwell. He stopped at the closest hospital in Nashville to be checked out. They immediately found that his lungs were filled with fluid, one significantly more than the other. His body was struggling to breathe, and he was told that he may have to be put on a ventilator. Morning came, and he his health was rapidly declining.

He was quickly put in a medically-induced coma to start treating what they thought was a very bad case of pneumonia. After a few hours, he wasn't responding to treatment. They decided to air lift him to a hospital which handles more critical situations.

Upon his arrival, the doctors performed a bronchoscopy thinking they would find the source of his "infection." The doctors, in turn, found a strong heart murmur which lead them to the problem.

It seems that JJ has a faulty heart valve. He has pulmonary edema as a result of the valves not pumping properly, thus filling up his lungs. The doctors quickly made the decision this morning to perform open-heart surgery and replace the faulty valve with a mechanical valve.

While open-heart surgery is a very common surgery, they will leave JJ on the ventilator and the ECMO machine to allow his body to recuperate for a week to two weeks in the hospital. It is likely that he does have pneumonia as well. The doctors suggested that this could be a very long recovery. He will be unable to work for approximately two months after he is released.

He is currently in surgery now.

In anticipation of mounting bills, we have discussed as a family how best to help Ashley & JJ and have decided to start a GoFundMe.

If you feel inclined to donate anything, I know it will be sincerely appreciated. Ashley and our family want to thank everyone for their love and support. Please keep praying for JJ! You've got this, JJ! We love you! ❤️