My life changing event

Friends and family,

on September 27th, I had a significant life-changing experience. Many of you already know of the struggle and battle that I've had for the past 20 years with my left ankle and foot. Back then, when I lived in the DC/Maryland area, I was an avid cyclist and rode to raise money for the charities. One day I decided to train on rollerblades for an upcoming charity bike ride to raise money for an upcoming ride from DC to NYC. Someone suggested I do some cross-training using rollerblades, and after a Sunday brunch one day, I stopped and bought a pair and rushed home to try them out. Overconfident, I threw them on and hit the Crescent Trail from Bethesda to Downtown DC. Not 15 minutes after I put them on, a stick got stuck in the wheels of my skate, and my left foot turned entirely around and with my body weight, I crushed my tibia from below my knee down to my ankle. It was a bad fracture, but it should have been an easy fix. Patrick drove me to Suburban hospital, and what happened next (and the following 20 years) would alter my life in ways I could have never imagined.

Negligent care at that hospital worsened my injury, and I woke up one night in that hospital to find several people around my bed. Coming out of my morphine fog, I asked who they were, and I was told it was the amputation team planning to take my leg.... without any discussion of this with me or my family. (Personally I smelled a "cover up from the hospital) My mom, sister, Patrick and I were hysterical with panic and confusion. After trying to track down my doctor without much luck and much screaming and crying from my hospital room, they finally sent me to shock trauma in Baltimore. Their emergency team quickly removed everything the other hospital had done and proceeded to remove they pools of blood from my leg and then set the fracture.

After a year of recovery, I was back on my bike and started training for the California AIDS ride from San Francisco to LA. It would be hard, but I was determined to participate, and I raised close to $8000.00 for the charity. About halfway through the ride, we camped out one night on the fairgrounds of one of the cities we rode through (I usually stay at hotels for these rides). That day we rode a century, and by the time I finished, I was exhausted, sweaty and dirty. That long and hot ride that day had caused me to have open blisters on my feet, so I kicked off my socks and shoes and walked to the shower trailers. Years later, I would discover that during that walk back from the showers, I stepped in horse manure which had not been cleaned up from a horse show that had been there at the fairgrounds a day before our arrival. Unfortunately, that manure got into the blister on my left foot, and a parasite transferred from the blister on my foot into my bones and created a bone infection. Starting at my big toe, then traveled to my ankle and every so often, I would get a raging infection with high fevers, cellulitis, excessive swelling and collection of fluid in my ankle. These infections came on suddenly and strong.

Through the next 15 or so years, the infection would harbour in my bones and hit me at random times. During that period of time, I had multiple surgeries (I lost track after 12) and intravenous IV about five different times. They tried antibiotic pellets in the bone and draining the fluids multiple times but nothing seemed to work to remove with killing the infection. This whole time I continued to work on my career with daily pain, swelling and the fear of another infection. I can't tell you how hard it is to live and function with that kind of pain and worry, but I had no choice but to continue with my life and work.

Since then, I've been to mutable hospitals, including the University of MD, Mercy hospital, Johns Hopkins, ORMC, Mayo Clinic and Advent health. Each place only recommended amputation as a relief from the pain, swelling and fear of infection. But I wouldn't listen...amputation seemed so extreme and devastating to me, and the fear and self-consciousness of having my leg amputated were out of the question. So I proceeded with my life, living in constant pain and trying hard to hide my swollen and disfigured foot. The last infection I got was here in Florida about two years ago and it was extreme. The fever was higher than ever, the pain was excruciating, and the infection traveled to my lower back and deteriated a disk. It also traveled to my kidneys, and I came very close to being put on dialysis.

The past two years have been extremely tough and my symptoms have grown bigger and more intense. It became difficult to walk or leave my house, and I became isolated and rarely left. My life was changing again into even more severe pain more isolating myself, and terrible depression. After my brother died of COVID in April of this year, it made me realized that I DO have more life to live and goals I wanted to achieve, but the only way to do that was to amputate my leg below the knee. First I had to have a complete hip replacement due to the uneven walking caused by my ankle being fused together, which also made one leg shorter then the other. My hips were affected, my lower back and my knees. That surgery was on July 27th of this year, and on my birthday, August 27th I finally decided to have the amputation done, and set the date for September 27th. The hardest decision of my life. I felt like I had finally lost the battle I had been fighting for so many years and was afraid the loss of my leg would only isolate me more, which brings me to today.

These two medical situations have caused tremendous financial burden for me. Since I couldn't physically work any longer, I had to hire an additional employee for my business, I've had to have my sister disrupt her life and leave her family in Maryland while she stays here in Florida with me and help me work through this. My insurance premiums and $1000.00 each month, and I've already paid almost $10,000.00 in deductibles and medical bills already this year. And with a six month to a year recovery, I'lll be out the additional income of the extra work I have been doing, such as floral work, event planning, holiday decorating and my artwork. I very much depended on this supplemental income to survive. That will be a big hit for me.... financially and emotionally! I have never been the type of person to ask for help, especially financial help.it makes me uncomfortable. I've been a self-employed business owner forever and stubbornly independent, but that has now changed, and I find myself needing the help of friends and family to get me through this next year.

I'm doing this Go Fund Me page not only to pay my monthly expenses and upcoming medical bills, but also to help pay for extra help at work and to cover the cost of my sister leaving her life to come down and help with mine. The prostehtics cost a fortune, and insurance only pays so much. I know that I've made the right choice in doing this, but it has caused tremendous strain on finances, worry and stress. In the short ten days since my amputation, I've learned that my true friends never left me, I left them. There are people in my life that have and always will support me. Knowing that along with their love, is what has gotten me to change my attitude about my amputation and the positive direction my life will now take. It will be a considerable struggle and it will take everything I have to get through this and make a significant change in my daily life, but I've made the commitment to myself to make this amputation a positive difference in my life and in order to do that, I'll need the help of my friends.

I appreciate any amount you can donate, and I can never thank you enough. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and understanding where I came from. I'll keep everyone updated on my progression as well as any set backs. I've learned that the people in my life are genuinely concerned and want to know what's happening in my life, and I'm making a commitment to be open and vulnerable. I mean, "It takes a village,".... right?

Thank you again.

Kelly