Blake’s Road to Recovery

Hi,

My name is Alma Husidic and this fundraiser is to support my dear friend Blake Kirkland. The majority will know Blake as the kick-ass, tough Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast who loves dogs and brings joy to everyone he comes into contact with. Blake would never harm a soul and would give his last drop of blood for those he loves. For this reason, I am asking for us to rally together and ensure his road to recovery is comfortable.

October 3rd Blake woke up unable to put pressure on his left foot and complaining about ankle pain. The same day he went to Urgent Care where he had x-rays done and a boot put on. I saw him October 5th and dropped off food for the dogs, he had crutches and his foot was swollen but he seemed in good health otherwise. Fast forward a few days and he was complaining about his right arm being swollen and hurting near the armpit from the crutches so he stopped using them and was essentially bedridden. Unfortunately, the use of the crutches must have caused an abrasion under his right arm which got infected. Blake being a little stubborn and not wanting to bother or alarm those around him, he tried to do compression bandages to keep the swelling down. We are not sure at what point the necrosis began on his arm as he was going through septic shock which clouds judgement. October 20th he was admitted to the ICU for severe necrosis of his right arm and an infection in that arm, left ankle and possibly left elbow. He underwent immediate surgery to try to remove the dead tissue; however, he became very unstable and his blood pressure dropped drastically so the surgery was stopped. The evening of October 20th, following his surgery, he was put on a ventilator. This morning, October 21st, he had a secondary surgery removing more tissue from his right arm at an attempt to save it from amputation. During this time, 50 CCs of pus was removed from his ankle as well and he was given heavy amounts of antibiotics to combat the infection which is officially in his blood. Currently he is in the ICU intubated and sedated awaiting another ortho surgery tomorrow on his ankle and another surgery Saturday on his arm. The doctors believe it is best to keep him sedated until they can get a handle on the infection. This post will be updated after each surgery.

Guys, I cannot fathom the long road ahead of Blake and the toll this will have on his mental and physical well-being. I am asking from the bottom of my heart for thoughts, prayers and donations.