CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — “I am medically disabled because of six surgeries, and I’m no longer allowed to lift anything over 20 pounds for the rest of my life,” said Lon Bowers, of Knox, in describing what he has went through with Crohn’s disease. 

“It basically turned my life upside down, not being able to work anymore, not being able to do anything.”  He paused a moment, smiled and added, “But, I don’t have any other restrictions.”

Bowers explained what he has gone through the last two years and how the Clarion Forest VNA helped him meet his challenges after he left the hospital.

“They offer a lot of support. I could tell the way they treated me, and the way they cared for me, it wasn’t just a job for them. They love what they do.  They love their patients.  Having a nurse that knows what they do and are good at what they do is important. They do more than just put a bandage on your physical wound. They are there for full support and not just physical.”

Doctors diagnosed Bowers with Crohn’s disease in 2015.

“Once they found out what it was and how bad it was, I’ve had six surgeries.  Three of them came in the first month I went in the hospital in August 2015. I went into emergency surgery, and they actually did two in one week because of how bad my bowels were.”

When he was released in 2015, he was living by himself and stayed with his folks for a couple of months after the first operations, and VNA took care of him.

“I thought we had it all cleared up and I had an ileostomy for a couple of months.  The plan in 2016 was to have it reversed if nothing bad happened down the road.  In September 2016, I hadn’t been feeling very good, and within a couple of days, I had a spot on my belly about the size of a basketball and they rushed me to a Pittsburgh hospital. My intestine had ruptured, and it was leaking (in) my stomach.  I spend 45 days in the hospital trying to get that fixed, and it wouldn’t heal and it ended up sending me home to my house in Knox with approximately a six-inch hole in my belly.” 

“They had Clarion Forest VNA come in then.  They came in almost every day because of the severity of the wound.  I had the wound care team come in, Deb and Judy, they were in most every day for about two and half months.  It was giving me fits.  They went above and beyond to take care of me and were incredible nurses. They would come in a couple of times a day just because of the amount of trouble I was having.”

“As I got better and my wound started healing, they cut back to coming in every other day. They were still a phone call away, and there were a couple of times where I was still having problems, and I had to call them back. When I see those nurses today, they still ask me how I am doing even though I’m not in their care anymore.”

His last surgery was almost a year ago in February and an ostomy bag was inserted into his body.

“I only needed VNA for about two weeks that time. Rebounding from the surgery was a smaller version of what I went through before and a whole lot less complicated. They were there to help when help was needed.”

(Ostomy is a surgical procedure creating an opening in the body for the discharge of body wastes.)

Crohn’s disease is mainly a hereditary disease, according to Bowers. His father had Colitis, also a disease of the intestine.

Bowers was an over the road truck driver before the outbreak of Crohn’s.  He said he was on the road all week and riding in a truck, eating on the road, and general lifestyle probably didn’t help matters.

Although he is restricted from many activities, he is still an active member of the Knox Fire Department where he has served since 1995.

There was also some good news through all of the surgeries. He got married to Gina Shoaff.

“She was my number one nurse and was a close second to the VNA and always there for me,” said Bowers. “She came down and spent a lot of time in the hospital. Two of her sisters are nurses, and she always wanted to be a nurse, so she was not squeamish at all when they were taking care of my wounds.”

He still maintains a connection with Clarion Forest VNA and can’t say enough about their support through the nursing and afterward.

“They started an ostomy support group here at VNA.  It’s the third Wednesday of the month here at 6:30 p.m. in the building.  It is kind of for people who have questions because there are more and more people having this done. It’s kind of a shock to the system, and some people consider it very awkward.  It’s one of those things you’ve just got to deal with.”

For more information about VNA services, call 814-297-8400, or visit Clarion Forest VNA website at cfvna.org.