Health care hero in need of support – Dr. David Bowman

IRWIN, Idaho (KIFI)– From offering free flu shots at his clinics, to his weekly segments on our show called "No Appointment Necessary", where he offered free medical to viewers: Doctor David Bowman has been a long time member of the Southeast Idaho Health Care Community.

Earlier this year, he was admitted to the hospital for a severe case of Pneumonia. His oxygen levels dropped to around 40 in his system. Now he is on the lung donation list, awaiting a match.

"When I got to the emergency room, I basically all I remember is them saying, are you okay if we intubate you? And I said, yes, you can intubate me. And and then it was ten days later that I woke up. the nurses and doctors would tell my wife and family that that they would leave at night, not expecting me to be alive in the morning."

Doctor Bowman said he died for 53 seconds during his coma, but the doctors and nurses were able to restart his heart and keep him alive. He was bedridden for months, and could not walk or eat. He had to relearn all of these skills while maintaining a brave face for his family.

"The first time I saw my dad in the ICU, I was just bawling," Anna recalled. "He would raise his hands up and say, I'm strong, I can do this.  And that gave us some hope to see that he is trying to be strong for us so we can be strong for him."

Now, he faces a wait for a lung donation match, which inspired Anna to create the GoFundMe.

"And finally he got home and we learned that he needs a lung transplant. So that freaked us all out, and we didn't really know what that meant for us. We're expecting for him to not be able to work for like, 3 to 4 months after the lung transplant, so it's just not realistic for for us to go without a little bit of help."

As they wait, they ask for your thoughts and prayers as he continues to recover.

"Just knowing that I've got friends out there that are that are helping me it." Dr. Bowman said. "You know, every share, every thought, every prayer is just so appreciated that I don't know if I could truly express how much I appreciate it."

Here is a link to the family's GoFundMe page, if you are willing and able to donate or to leave comments of encouragement.