Help Katelyn Pay Her Unexpected Hospital Bills

I have known a wonderful person named Katelyn Babcock for over 10 years. Her dedication to the animals, family, and friends in her life is second to none. Katelyn has been a dedicated zoo keeper for 12 years between the Toledo Zoo and more recently, the Detroit Zoo. She is the type of person that would do anything for anyone - no questions asked.

Now is the time that she needs our help.

On the morning of September 8th, Katelyn had to be admitted to ProMedica Toledo Hospital due to extreme pain. With her change in jobs between Toledo and Detroit, Katelyn was unfortunately before her 90 day probationary period was over. This left her without insurance as she headed down a lengthy hospital stay filled with treatments, testing, surgeries, etc. Her small amount of PTO at Detroit was wiped out quickly as her debt added up.

Her amazing mother Denise and her sister Emily stayed by her side throughout this whole ordeal. Through text messages, they would communicate with friends on behalf of Katelyn to make sure all of her friends and animals were all doing well in her absence.

Here’s a timeline of what she’s been dealing with:

September 8: admitted to ER with pains

September 9: transferred to ICU due to pain caused by pancreatitis, high heart rate/blood pressure, and pain management

September 12: still in ICU - pain still incredibly high

September 14-21: highly sedated due to pain - not much communication

September 22: out of ICU - moved to a step/down unit; applied for Medicaid to help cover some bill costs

September 24: updated - not leaving hospital as soon as she would like. Has to have another procedure, but without insurance, it would be difficult to get her back into the hospital for the procedure. May need to stay to make sure it happens. Still dealing with pancreas issues; also found cyst on pancreas

September 26: procedure to remove gallbladder

September 28: found out from Detroit that she will start getting insurance on October 1

October 2: finally released from hospital and now “home” (staying with mom as she still recovers)

October 11: CT scan at the hospital

October 16: follow up with doctor - pancreas getting better, cyst on pancreas shrinking; follow up CT scan in one month; will start physical therapy soon

While Katelyn might now finally be home, the long road to recovery still continues. As of October 22, she still has not returned to work. While we are getting closer at the possibility of her returning (we’re still at the very least two weeks away from her going back to work at a very restricted/light duty work), the hospital bills are still there.

What better way to help a friend in need out than giving back? Any donation that you are able to provide will greatly impact the burden of all of the medical bills that have accumulated over the last two months.

Thank you for reading this. Please share to spread attention to help out a friend in need.