Stand by Donna in Her Healing Process
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Hi there, my name is Kaylee. I am the daughter of two wonderful and kind people, Donna and Mike, who unfortunately have had a rough year. At the very end of April of this year, what is best described as a "freak accident" took place. My mom was outside at night walking my parents' dog. He got excited and pulled her, causing her to lose her footing. She fell and landed in a bush in our garden bed. EMS was called and were concerned she had injured her spine. As they were getting her in the stretcher, the EMTs asked my father if her face had always sunk in like that. After my father replied no, it was then that they discovered a piece of a stick protruding from the base of her neck. On the way to the hospital, they believed it had fallen out as it had disappeared. However, this was not the case. My mom endured quite a bit of poking and prodding while being cleaned in the trauma room of the ED before the providers believed there to be more debris located in her neck. After another hour, a massive stick (as long as the 10 mL syringe used to irrigate her neck) was removed. My mom then spent about a week in the hospital for recovery. We were grateful, and it was a medical miracle, as that stick bypassed everything major and life-threatening (jugular vein, carotid artery, larynx, esophagus, etc.). The doctors didn't believe it. However, as my mom was recovering in the weeks that followed, she continued to have pain and symptoms similar to that night in the trauma room. About two months after the initial injury, my mom underwent an exploratory surgery where they discovered much more debris from the bush still being harbored in her neck. As she was closed up, we thought we could put this chapter behind us. My mom returned to work for a short time in August before tragedy struck again. In the beginning of September, late in the evening, my mom was attacked by my rescue dog. We don't believe it was malicious, but that he was experiencing PTSD that was triggered by my brother's dog howling in pain, and that he somehow confused my mom to be the aggressor. He created a massive wound that took out a chunk of skin and fat and left about 8 deep puncture wounds in total. EMS again paid us a visit and transported her to the ER. Two days later, my mom was regressing. She went back to the hospital. Her leg had become infected. My mom spent another week in the hospital, with the infection growing and continuing. Over the next month, she was in and out of doctors' offices and ER visits. She visited a total of 3 different hospitals before finally being at VCU, where she received the treatment she needed. After another 8-day stay, she was discharged home. She is continuing to heal and progress. However, it has not been without issues. My mom is still battling issues with her neck and will be having another exploratory surgery later this month. Throughout all of this, finances have been hard on both of my parents. With my dad being the sole provider, it has placed a great burden on them. What has been getting them through all of this is unwavering faith--faith I never knew someone could have. They are two of the most compassionate, kind, and generous people I have ever known. They will help anyone who needs it, and I'm hoping help could be bestowed to them. Any little thing helps, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for any help given.
Organizer
Kaylee Wallace
Organizer
Fredericksburg, VA