Empower Brianna's New Beginning

hi my name is Brianna, I’m a 25 year old newly amputee from Chicago IL. I was introduced to the party scene late 2019. I came from a broken home so using drugs seemed like a good escape. It became my entire life very fast especially with an addictive personality/genetic predisposition to addiction. During Covid whilst everything was shut down I discovered my drug of choice Ketamine and i became a slave to it for the next 4 years. It slowly destroyed my mind and body to a point where I was having medical issues due to the usage. November 3rd 2022 I drove to FL with my dog and a suitcase to get sober and create a fresh start. I went to treatment for 5 months and started to create a life for myself.

The first treatment center I went to was at Heal, in Jupiter Farms FL and it was absolutely beautiful. I made genuine connections with my peers and was in love with the nature around me. Up until New Years everything went great. I was given permission to visit my family over the holidays and I chose to use that weekend of freedom to secretly drink. I got blackout drunk and ended up back in detox. When I got back to Heal after my 14 days in detox my all peers alienated me and bullied me and made bets on how long I would stay sober. I asked for a transfer and they scrambled to see which therapist had room for me in their group.

None could take me, so I made the decision to ask for a transfer to another program and it was granted. Within 15 minutes I was admitted into Olympic treatment center in West Palm FL. I got my own apartment and we paid 6 months upfront so I wouldn’t have to stress. I got a job. Everything seemed to be falling into place except my mental health plummeted. I isolated and lost track of my meds. I started to care take one of my friends I met in treatment, happened to lived in a halfway house right across the street. He was also having a rough time so I made it my mission to try to help him stay clean. I kept us busy going to the beach, decorating my apartment, and even going bridge jumping together.

Saint Patrick’s day we both went out and got drunk. The guilt of screwing up the next morning drove me to make a decision that changed the course of my life forever. My friend offered to find the stuff I used back home. I said yes. I took a bump the size of a grain of rice and that was that. Everything went black and I knew I had been deceived. What I didn’t know is that I was given Fentanyl, and while I was passed out, my friend shot me up in the leg and then killed himself next to me in my apartment. March 20th was the last day I had my own two legs and feet. I was found 40 hours later sitting cross cross therefore - I developed compartment syndrome (all the blood is stuck in one area due to blood flow and circulation being cut off) i was septic & in multi organ failure. I went into cardiac arrest momentarily after the paramedics moved me to a gurney. I was helicoptered to Kendall Hospital in Miami. My prognosis was poor & the doctors told my parents to call the family. I had a traumatic amputation above my right knee and my surgeon was able to save my left leg. I coded once more on the OR table and my surgeons got me back. When I woke up I was unable to move my remaining leg and foot, I couldn’t speak due to the trake, I couldn’t drink water, and my right arm seemed to be stuck to me. I have extensive nerve damage, phantom pain/phantom limb, debilitating panic attacks, PTSD, flashbacks, major depressive disorder, ADHD, anxiety, BPD.

I love to dance, paint and I write poetry when I’m sad. I’m an animal lover & a child of the earth.

I’m creating this gofundme so I can have financial independence to LIVE this version of my life and not just EXIST. It’s been over a year and I still haven’t received any disability. I haven’t been able to work for over a year due to the healing process not only physically but mentally.

The funds will be used towards

• food for myself

• medical devices to make my life easier, like Hand Controls so I can drive & gain that piece of independence back

• Traveling to warm places during the winter months to eliminate nerve/phantom pain (when the cold hits my skin I get extreme nerve pain that feels like fire ants engulfing my leg)

• A foot part I have to pay out of pocket for that allows me to walk barefoot (for over a year now I MUST put on shoes to walk around) I want to connect with the earth & I want my feet in the dirt

• A prosthetic leg I can wear in the water (for the last year I’ve been sitting on the floor of the bath to shower) Allows me to walk in the ocean/lake instead of scooting and feeling all eyes on me. To a point where I don’t do the things I love out of fear -like swimming

• clothes

due to my new form I had to get rid of a lot of clothes & get new ones

~didn’t fit

~made it difficult to take on & off my prosthetic in public in emergency’s or if I need to adjust it

•medical emergency’s and the bills that come with that

I’m so grateful to anyone who’s willing to donate and if you’re not in a position to financially (I know times are hard) sharing my story is more than enough <3

UPDATE: my stump shrank so much it was time for a new socket! This is the mold compared to my old socket! 

this is my new one ☝ ✨