Please help a Veteran through heart surgery

I created this fundraiser in order to get the help I need to get through an extremely difficult and vital surgery.

I am a 52-year-old Veteran diagnosed with a serious medical condition, and I am facing homelessness by the end of this December 2022. I currently have no income and am not able to get a job due to the severity of my physical condition. I have sold most of my possessions and even my car and with only bare necessities left. I need to prepare to store the remainder of my property or pay advance rent until I get back home. I also must find a temporary home for my pets before the surgery, but I have no money to do so. I can’t just leave my dogs behind; they are my family and all I have left and give me the will to live.

I have started the process of applying for benefits, but this may take three or four months or longer. I just don’t know the time frame of how long it will take. I have been denied public assistance because I have not been declared disabled yet and food has been a big issue these last days.

A couple of advocates helped me create this fundraiser as a last-ditch effort to survive and get the help I need to get through an extremely difficult and vital surgery.

I must undergo double bypass surgery involving the complete replacement of my Abdominal Aorta and part of my right Iliac Artery. The replacement of the Abdominal Aorta is a severe aspect of the matter as it will require up to 6 months of recovery time with a minimum of 60 days hospitalization. The first 30 days following surgery will be spent in the ICU followed by at least another 30 days of complete immobilization where I will be restrained completely flat unable to even raise my head.

I will remain in that position until the surgeon is confident that an increase in blood pressure will not rupture the sutures and result in internal bleeding. Bleeding is of extreme concern because of heavy blood thinners and Heparin impregnation of the synthetic tissues. Replacement of the Abdominal Aorta requires the removal of most of my internal organs to access the artery. So, as you can see, this is one of the most invasive surgeries one may ever have to endure.

While, as a Veteran, I can have the operation performed at the VA Hospital there are other serious considerations I have to address in conjunction with this procedure. The VA does offer medical aid to Veterans, but it does not assist with these other problems. I live alone and I have no living family or close friends. I am just praying I will survive.

My Background: At 17 I enlisted in the US Navy and was trained as an Operations Specialist. Following graduation, I was assigned to the 7th Fleet COMDESRON 25. A few months after my arrival at Pearl Harbor I was billeted to the Naval Special Warfare C School for Target Motion Analysis and soon became an instructor for the Advanced Target Motion Analysis Attack Team. Essentially, we were Submarine hunters. I served with the US Navy for 8 years and at the end of my second tour I was recruited by a different government agency where I served for another 12 and half years in both official and non-official capacities.

I am requesting help from my fellow inhabitants of this planet to raise the money I need to make this surgery happen. I have reduced my basic expenses to the lowest level possible, allowing for only the most basic of need during this time. We spend so much of our life taking existence for granted and feeling like we have all the time in the world…. Until we find ourselves with time running out. I never realized just how much I love life until I was faced with my death. I don’t want to die and I find myself being scared despite spending my whole youth deluding myself into thinking that I wouldn’t be scared at the end. I was wrong… I am scared. Where once I would look at my dogs with all the love in the world I now look at them with a broken heart. I didn’t realize just how much I loved this world and my fellow humans until I was faced with leaving it and you. Please, if you can help, even the smallest of kindnesses would a tremendous way in my life at this time.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story….

Very cordially yours,

Rob Treat