David's amputation recovery

Hi, thank you for coming to our page and taking the time to read our story.

My dad, David, is going through a life changing event right now. On June 6th, 2023 he was told his foot would need to be amputated due to his progressing diabetes. They scheduled it immediately, and on June 9th they removed his foot and part of his leg.. about half way up his calf.

My dad is a very hard working man. He busted his butt to provide for his family every single day. Never slowing down, always trying to make sure we had our needs met. We struggled, but he always worked hard and tried to do his best. He took on the role of father to my sister at the age of 2, lost his second child, and then had my bother and I. He is a good man with a good heart.

He was diagnosed around the age of 30 with diabetes after going to the hospital for appendicitis. He was referred to an endocrinologist who told him if he continued the path he was on, he would die within 2 years. Im happy to say that was 25 years ago.

My dad does HVAC work for a living. Its a very taxing career for the body, but he loves it. He's been doing it for close to 30 years. He also does other "handy man" type work... plumbing, electrical, etc. All of which require his full body to be able to do. The amputation came quite suddenly, and now he is struggling. His bills are piling up, and we do not know when he will be able to return to work. Ive done as much as I can possibly do on my own, but I fear he will soon become homeless if we aren't able to figure something out. (Of course, he always has the option to come live with me, but he does not "want to be a burden on his children" -as he says).

His utilities are already being turned off, water went off about a week ago and electric will be going off July 3rd. He is in the process of looking into different assistance programs. He will also be applying for disability. On top of the stress of bills, his medication is crazy expensive. His A1C is at a dangerous level and the medication the doctor wants to put him on to get his levels down (within 6 months) costs $1,000/month. We will be going without that and hope the doctor can come up with a different solution, but he has many other medications that he is supposed to be taking.

He is very anxious to get back to work, so we are looking into prosthetics. The cheapest option is going to be around $10,000. He does have insurance, but its not the greatest insurance...we are not sure if they will cover the cost or even a portion of it. I have set our goal at $10,000 so that whatever is not used towards keeping a roof over his head, having his basic needs met, cost of medication, etc will be put towards a prosthetic.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read this. I understand life is hard for everyone these days, but if you have anything to spare and you're willing to help my dad, we will certainly pay it forward in the future.

Wishing you the best,

Anslie (and David) Smith

***KEEP SHARING PLEASE***

More updates:

-We have been having a lot of issues with trying to apply for disability, but still working on it

-My dad was unable to check his blood sugar since he got out of the hospital (several weeks) and we were finally able to get his prescriptions (two of which were Libre sensors to check his sugar)... well go figure, they wouldnt work for some reason. For those that dont know, its a sensor he puts in his arm that registers with an app on his phone. He is supposed to be able to scan it and his app shows the blood sugar reading. Well for some reason, the app wouldnt scan the sensors... we tried 2 or 3 different ones, and all they keep doing is sending new sensors instead of trying to see if maybe there is a different issue going on. So I had to buy a generic reader from the drug store just so he could finally check his sugar.

-we were able to get him a shower chair so he could have a safer way to shower. He was using one of those outdoor plastic chairs, which was just very unsturdy and causing ya girl hella anxiety. He's taken a couple of hard falls (outside of the shower), so that was very concerning. Im not sure anyone can fathom the pain of falling on a freshly cut off limb. I tend to helicopter him a lot when Im around because I hate seeing him in so much pain.

-We found out that in the event he has to come live with us, he can basically say goodbye to any chance at receiving government assitance (disability, snap, medicaid) because they would take into account mine and Kirk's income. Which I feel is very ridiculous. There's just absolutely no way Kirk and I will be able to manage all of his needs on our own. We will absolutely do whatever we can, regardless, but its very frustrating to have that knowledge and know we won't have any assistance.

We are trying to stay as positive as possible, but lately it is just one thing after another. (Unrelated, our dogs are needing extra attention right now. Cici goes to a specialist tomorrow to have her liver biopsied, as she might have liver disease. Milo is in need of some serious behavior related training which is going to cost anywhere from $2-4K, so our funds are a little tied up) Life really has that tendency to just hit all at once, I guess.

Update: Due to the generosity we've received already, we've been able to keep the lights on, get the water turned back on, and we are about to be able to get ALL of his prescriptions! What a blessing. We are using the funds sparingly, there is still so much more he needs, but I cant thank yall enough for the donations we've already gotten.❤️❤️ keep sharing!!

Other updates:

-He went to Aiken-Barnwell to get assistance with the lights, they told him it was too late (he couldnt get there because he didnt have gas, by the time he did that was their response)

-He's working on getting disability, but the earliest they can see him is Aug 16th

-He was approved for SNAP ($280/month, so that will help)

-The transmission in his truck gave out on the way home from picking up his SNAP card so now it will be even harder for him to get to these places he needs to be. (When it rains, it pours⛈️)