Steve Koelling’s medical expense & Funeral fund

I am asking help for my father, Steve Koelling, who many of you know! He is the local painting artist who does window paintings & murals here in Vacaville, such as Anchor Tattoo, Kappel & Kappel, Hella Good Nutrition and so many more! Those of you who know him know how giving and loving he is, and he would do anything for any and everyone without question. So today, I am going to tell you his story… because it’s been crazy, and extremely rough.. and while I tried to avoid coming on here and making a go fund me, I feel it is the least I can do to help him, because I know he would do the same for anyone who needed it. So let’s start with how he got here… bear with me, it’s a long one, but I want everyone to know the story, and the cause.

He has lived in his house with his Fiancé  Dana (my step mom) and my two brothers, for the past 10 years… last year their beloved landlord died in a tragic accident, and the house was passed down to an executor, who decided to tell them in June this year that the house would be being sold and they would need to move out. They worked out a deal with the neighbor next door, and they would be moving into the empty house, in exchange they would take care of it for the owner while he was was sick in another state being tended to… the day came to move (July 31st) , and the lease was still not in place, they were allowed to move their stuff into the backyard but not the house, they thought it would be only a week, here it is September and they still have not moved there because it’s been a mess of a situation.. what’s the point in telling that? Their lovely neighbor across the way, offered their family trailer as a place to stay until things were figured out.. so they’ve been staying there until something else on the market becomes available. In this crazy process of moving, and not having their own house, my dad was hit with COVID-19 on August 20th, it was fast... It started as what felt like a cold, and within a few days of having it, there was a night he had gotten so bad he needed to go to the ER.. they kept him for the night and all day, regulated him, then sent him back home.. or well to the trailer.. he is a very bad asthmatic, and covid has not been his friend… three days later his fever spiked again, he was rushed back to the ER where he got admitted into the hospital, and we were told from the nurses that it was not looking good.. he was only in the hospital for a day before being sent to ICU so he could have more care. He told me himself how he was certain it was the end, and how he felt he was drifting away, that it was the scariest day of his life… (which is saying something because we all know how accident prone he can be especially back in the softball days)

By the 31st of August, the doctors told us they were sure he’d make a full recovery and be out of the ICU by this holiday weekend, back in the hospital for what would be a long and slow recovery, but it seemed like within a week he’d be recovering at home.. and then Wednesday September 1st came… he had been communicating with us through text up until this point, and the doctors were updating us daily.. on this day however, he was very tired, and couldn’t really respond much on the phone. Mid day, I received a phone call from Dana (his fiancé ) letting me know that he was being intubated (medically induced coma) and put on a ventilator… this is a terrifying thing to hear, for anyone and for all of us.. because everything we’ve all been told about ventilators is typically not so good.. this was however his choice.. and although many other things had started to look up for him, he was not retaining his oxygen unless relying on the Bipap* machine…. The normal amount they give to someone is typically 2 liters.. he was receiving 60 liters at 100% and still not able to stabilize his oxygen.. so he, with advice of the doctors and nurses, decided being on a ventilator may be his best option to help him rest and recover as best as possible, with hope that this would be what his lungs need to recover..

The newest updates: (other than they expect at minimum for him to be on he ventilator for 2 weeks, if not more.. once he’s off it, recovery will take a long while, weeks if not months..) 

He was confirmed to have pneumonia today 9/04, as well as early signs of diabetes probably due to the steroids they’re giving him. He is receiving antibiotics to help, and we hope that catching this and treating it may help his lungs recover better as well 

It is scary, and terrifying, and all we can do is hope, pray, and send all the positive vibes that he will come out of this okay.

However, he is a work horse, self employed, and never stops, he works all day every day even on the weekends to make sure that he meets his clients needs and never leaves anyone left out. This could be two months or more of recovery for him, and that is incomeless, technically homeless, (in the neighbors trailer) and let’s add the medical bills that will add up, which we aren’t sure if they’ll be covered or not due to his current health coverage situation. So I am asking for any help, in hope we can raise enough so when he comes home (because I believe in my heart that he will) that he can come home and rest easy, not stressing on the money and bills that are owed and late due to the virus knocking him behind.

He would probably never let me do this if he was awake and able to have a say because he hates asking for help and relying on others. But as I said in the beginning, I know he would do this for anyone who needed it, and he deserves to have the same done for him.

With that said, I want people to feel they’re also receiving Something for the generous help of donating hard earned money to the cause, so for those who donate $70+

I will let you choose one of his small painting prints as a gift.

anything $200+ Will be your choice of a large print.

 For everyone who gets a print, I will be reaching out within a few weeks, and giving you the options of which to choose from.

With this being changed to funeral costs, and every donation we have gotten is beyond appreciated, the prints will no longer be being given out, as we need everything we can to go to the funeral cost (everyone who donated prior to his passing will still receive their prints) it’s just from here on out we can no longer print them, since of course we didn’t expect to have to raise the asking cost of donations a

I appreciate everyone for any help, and I absolutely understand those who can’t donate, and thank you again to everyone for everything. It is appreciated more than I could ever express ❤️‍

(for those who want to send cards or whatever else, I can also provide the mailing address for you to do so)

All donations made will be withdrawn by me (his daughter) and given to my father (the beneficiary) in his account when he is home and they can be received by him personally.