Lisa Samples' Medical Fund
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Rachel Ferrucci. One of my BFFs has been having a very rough year and she has given Zippy and me permission to share her story in hopes of helping her as she has helped many throughout her time as a blogger. Lisa Samples (@lisasamples) from the blog Life with Lisa took a huge leap of faith in hopes of getting rid of her comorbidities (diabetes, high blood pressure, severe back pain/arthritis, and high cholesterol) by having bariatric surgery on 12/27/2019. Although her surgeon released her on 12/30 to go home things didn't go too well.
Shortly after getting out of the hospital she and her husband separated and she became a single mom to her 16-year-old son.
On 1/18 she ended up at the ER and was admitted for dehydration. She told the doctor she was having problems, but he told her it was normal.
On 2/17 she went to a different hospital ER and they admitted her for dehydration and malnutrition but once they got her hydrated they told her to follow up with her surgeon. When she did, he told her to stay on liquids until she was better but things only got worse and she found herself dehydrated and back at the ER on 2/22, 2/25, 3/14, 3/16, and 3/18. Each time she told them something was seriously wrong and she had gone from 210 lbs. to 140 lbs. in less than 3 months. During this time her son watched as she suffered and became weak and he repeatedly asked her if she was going to die.
In April things got much worse and she went to her family doctor and told her, in tears, that the surgeon was not listening to her. She knew something was wrong and she developed severe depression. Her doctor referred her to her local Gastroenterologist to see if he could help. During this time Lisa was unable to work and her medical bills were mounting. This was the time of COVID-19 and hospitals were not doing any procedures but because of Lisa's persistence and apparent malnutrition her Gastro doctor considered this to be a life-threatening emergency and he was able to schedule a procedure to explore through an endoscopy on 4/10. What he found was shocking. She had a 4.6 cm necrotic ulcer that needed to be addressed immediately and when she woke up in recovery her Gastroenterologist was on the phone with her Bariatric Surgeon telling him she needed surgery STAT. This was on a Friday evening and she was told to show up at the surgeon's office first thing Monday. On 4/13 she was admitted into the hospital had the ulcer removed and a revision. Her blood work was a mess and they discovered her ulcer had perforated. She remained in the hospital until 4/22 on multiple antibiotics. He discharged her on a liquid diet.
Less than 2 weeks later she was back in the hospital (5/3). She was having problems walking and was losing almost a pound every day because she was unable to eat or drink. He kept her in the hospital until 5/9 and sent her home. At this point, Lisa thought she was going to die. She was unable to walk and had lost all bladder control due to being over hydrated from her hospital stay. On Mother's Day (5/10), it became apparent that if she was not brought to a different hospital she would die of severe malnutrition. She needed an advocate so she could get a new bariatric surgeon and her sister rushed her to AdventHealth in Orlando.
She was immediately surrounded by doctors upon her arrival in the ER and it was without question that things were pretty serious. Her potassium, magnesium, RBC, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, and all her bloodwork was off. She was anemic and suffering from extreme malnutrition weighing 130 lbs. They had to place a PICC line because all her veins failed from the dehydration and malnourishment and because she could not eat or drink they put her on TPN (a large bag of lipids, vitamins, etc. that provided her nutrition and hydration) from 6pm - 8am. There were infections in her abdomen as well as other places in her body that called for a variety of IV antibiotics as well. Through all this, she was unable to see her son or other visitors due to COVID-19 but every day was a fight and she wasn't feeling much like talking. Her new surgeon came in and did a procedure and found that her original bariatric surgeon had left staples inside her stomach/pouch that were causing problems. He removed them and she was sent home with the PICC line and TPN, a home care nurse, and physical therapy on 5/27.
On her follow up appointment with her new surgeon on 6/17 she told him how earlier in the day she had gotten chills so badly that she shook uncontrollably for 40 minutes. The shaking had made her exhausted and when she woke up her temperature was 103.7. He immediately thought her PICC line got infected and she was suffering from a blood infection. He sent her to the hospital across the street and she was admitted once again. There were infections going on but they weren't sure where they were coming from so they took her off the TPN and removed the PICC line. As part of the routine, they tested her for COVID-19 and she tested positive. However, it was her blood levels that had them more worried and they went on a search for blood to do a blood transfusion (she has antibodies that require special blood). She was finally stable enough to leave the hospital on 6/21 and will be following up with an Oncologist/Hematologist on 7/14 to see if she can get some answers.
We need your help. Lisa has spent most of 2020 in the hospital and the bills have piled up. She has not been able to make ends meet and her medical expenses are incredible. She hasn't been able to pay her bills being out of work for so long. I know our community is strong and caring and I am asking for your help. Can you please donate and if you are not able to, please share this with your friends.
Did we mention Lisa is losing her hair from malnutrition?
Thank you,
Rachel
Shortly after getting out of the hospital she and her husband separated and she became a single mom to her 16-year-old son.
On 1/18 she ended up at the ER and was admitted for dehydration. She told the doctor she was having problems, but he told her it was normal.
On 2/17 she went to a different hospital ER and they admitted her for dehydration and malnutrition but once they got her hydrated they told her to follow up with her surgeon. When she did, he told her to stay on liquids until she was better but things only got worse and she found herself dehydrated and back at the ER on 2/22, 2/25, 3/14, 3/16, and 3/18. Each time she told them something was seriously wrong and she had gone from 210 lbs. to 140 lbs. in less than 3 months. During this time her son watched as she suffered and became weak and he repeatedly asked her if she was going to die.
In April things got much worse and she went to her family doctor and told her, in tears, that the surgeon was not listening to her. She knew something was wrong and she developed severe depression. Her doctor referred her to her local Gastroenterologist to see if he could help. During this time Lisa was unable to work and her medical bills were mounting. This was the time of COVID-19 and hospitals were not doing any procedures but because of Lisa's persistence and apparent malnutrition her Gastro doctor considered this to be a life-threatening emergency and he was able to schedule a procedure to explore through an endoscopy on 4/10. What he found was shocking. She had a 4.6 cm necrotic ulcer that needed to be addressed immediately and when she woke up in recovery her Gastroenterologist was on the phone with her Bariatric Surgeon telling him she needed surgery STAT. This was on a Friday evening and she was told to show up at the surgeon's office first thing Monday. On 4/13 she was admitted into the hospital had the ulcer removed and a revision. Her blood work was a mess and they discovered her ulcer had perforated. She remained in the hospital until 4/22 on multiple antibiotics. He discharged her on a liquid diet.
Less than 2 weeks later she was back in the hospital (5/3). She was having problems walking and was losing almost a pound every day because she was unable to eat or drink. He kept her in the hospital until 5/9 and sent her home. At this point, Lisa thought she was going to die. She was unable to walk and had lost all bladder control due to being over hydrated from her hospital stay. On Mother's Day (5/10), it became apparent that if she was not brought to a different hospital she would die of severe malnutrition. She needed an advocate so she could get a new bariatric surgeon and her sister rushed her to AdventHealth in Orlando.
She was immediately surrounded by doctors upon her arrival in the ER and it was without question that things were pretty serious. Her potassium, magnesium, RBC, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, and all her bloodwork was off. She was anemic and suffering from extreme malnutrition weighing 130 lbs. They had to place a PICC line because all her veins failed from the dehydration and malnourishment and because she could not eat or drink they put her on TPN (a large bag of lipids, vitamins, etc. that provided her nutrition and hydration) from 6pm - 8am. There were infections in her abdomen as well as other places in her body that called for a variety of IV antibiotics as well. Through all this, she was unable to see her son or other visitors due to COVID-19 but every day was a fight and she wasn't feeling much like talking. Her new surgeon came in and did a procedure and found that her original bariatric surgeon had left staples inside her stomach/pouch that were causing problems. He removed them and she was sent home with the PICC line and TPN, a home care nurse, and physical therapy on 5/27.
On her follow up appointment with her new surgeon on 6/17 she told him how earlier in the day she had gotten chills so badly that she shook uncontrollably for 40 minutes. The shaking had made her exhausted and when she woke up her temperature was 103.7. He immediately thought her PICC line got infected and she was suffering from a blood infection. He sent her to the hospital across the street and she was admitted once again. There were infections going on but they weren't sure where they were coming from so they took her off the TPN and removed the PICC line. As part of the routine, they tested her for COVID-19 and she tested positive. However, it was her blood levels that had them more worried and they went on a search for blood to do a blood transfusion (she has antibodies that require special blood). She was finally stable enough to leave the hospital on 6/21 and will be following up with an Oncologist/Hematologist on 7/14 to see if she can get some answers.
We need your help. Lisa has spent most of 2020 in the hospital and the bills have piled up. She has not been able to make ends meet and her medical expenses are incredible. She hasn't been able to pay her bills being out of work for so long. I know our community is strong and caring and I am asking for your help. Can you please donate and if you are not able to, please share this with your friends.
Did we mention Lisa is losing her hair from malnutrition?
Thank you,
Rachel
Organizer and beneficiary
Rachel Ferrucci
Organizer
New Haven, CT
LISA SAMPLES
Beneficiary