How do I insert OwnValues inside a held expression without evaluating it?

Question

Here is a very long and complicated expression, which we abbreviate as a. I store it using SetDelayed because I want to perform algebraic manipulations on it:

ClearAll[a];
a := 1 + 1

Here is a really complicated function f with attributes HoldFirst that operates on its first argument. It counts the number of times 1 appears in its first argument.

ClearAll[f];
SetAttributes[f, HoldFirst];

f[input_] := Module[{expr=Hold[input]},
  Count[expr,1,{0,Infinity}]
]

As you can see, directly inserting the complicated expression works, but not if you insert the abbreviation a:

f[1+1]
(*2*)      (* good *)

f[a]
(*0*)      (* not good *)

The reason it doesn't work is because Hold doesn't allow inserting a definition. So, in the second example, Count is seeing the symbol a and not the expression 1+1 to which it points.

Question: How do I insert OwnValues verbatim inside a held expression without evaluating it?

---

SIMPLE EXAMPLE

ClearAll[a];
a := 1 + 1

Here is a sample held expression containing symbols which may or may not have OwnValues:

Hold[a + b + c]

How do I insert the RHS of the definition of a verbatim into the held expression, so that the result is this?:

Hold[(1 + 1) + b + c]

I have the following (which may or may not be fruitful):

Hold[a + b + c] /. (symb_Symbol /; OwnValues[symb] =!= {} :> 
   RuleCondition[First[OwnValues[symb]]])

(*  Hold[(HoldPattern[a] :> 1 + 1) + b + c] *)

Answer 1

ClearAll[a, b];
a := 1 + 1
b = Sqrt

Is this acceptable?

foo = # /. Join @@ Cases[#, s_Symbol :> OwnValues[s], ∞, Heads->True] &;

foo @ Hold[a + b[c]]

Hold[(1 + 1) + Sqrt[c]]

---

Update

As OP has noticed I've missed the fact that ReadProtected symbols won't show its OwnValues.

We could do something like s_Symbol /; FreeQ[ Attributes[s], ReadProtected] but why should we skip that symbol if we can just evaluate it to get its OwnValue?

Here's alternative approach:

ClearAll[a, b];
SetAttributes[{b, d}, ReadProtected]
a := 1 + 1
b = Sqrt
d := 1 + 2

foo = # /. Join @@ Cases[#, s_Symbol :> If[
   FreeQ[Attributes[s], ReadProtected],
   OwnValues[s],
   {HoldPattern[s] :> Evaluate@s}
  ], 
  \[Infinity], Heads -> True] &;

foo@Hold[a + b[c] + I + d]

Hold[(1 + 1) + Sqrt[c] + I + 3]

As you can see d is inserted but not as 1+2, that's the price of ReadProtected. We could Unprotect but it wouldn't work for Locked symbols. So at the end it's up to OP how to handle those cases.