Support Steve Aungst and his family

Leanne Grant is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Wendy Aungst.

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On January 18, Steve Aungst, went to the Emergency Room in Valparaiso running a high fever and feeling very ill. They found that he had somehow gotten a staph infection in his bloodstream. With little improvement at Northwest Health - Porter, Steve was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago on January 26. Doctors discovered the infection had spread to multiple organs, including his artificial aortic heart valve, in addition to creating multiple brain aneurysms. The plan at that point was to pump him with IV antibiotics to shrink the brain aneurysms so that they could then perform the major open-heart surgery he needed to replace the valves that were damaged by the infection.

On February 22nd, Steve suffered a stroke that had him intubated and sedated with a drain in his skull to remove the blood from his brain. As of February 25th, doctors have removed the breathing tube, so he is breathing on his own, and lessened the sedation. The next several days will be critical to determine the amount of damage from the stroke, the state of the brain aneurysms, and when open heart surgery will be safe to perform as it is still a necessity, though the brain aneurysms must be under control first. Needless to say, he still has a long road ahead.

Without Steve’s income for over 5 weeks, and the uncertainty of when he may be able to return to work, bills have become a concern for his family. With your generosity, the family can continue to focus on Steve’s health and recovery over the next several months.

⁃ $8,000 - assist with part of Steve’s income loss to help cover the mortgage, utilities, food, etc.

⁃ $2,000 - help Wendy (wife), Trace (son), and Emily (daughter) travel back and forth to Chicago to be with Steve in the hospital (train fare, hotels, etc.)

The family is most grateful and appreciative of any support during this difficult, unpredictable, unimaginable time. Please keep Steve and his family in your prayers. Thank you so much.