Tally Key's October 9th Incident

On October 9th2020 an event happened that changed our family’s life. My mother and father were insulating our shop. To do this they rented and insulation blower, that breaks bales of insulation by grinding it to blow the insulation into the walls. My mother was loading a bale into the blower, and in a split second my dad heard my mom scream. My mom’s right arm was caught in the machine and tore her hand off as well as the meat to the bone from her elbow down. My dad immediately applied pressure and a tunicate to control the bleeding. EMS was called and seemed like hours to my parents as the waited. She was transported to the ER with her removed hand on ice.

I arrived at the hospital waiting for my dad, and was an absolute wreck. When I asked to be taken to her room, the nurse told me that a staff member would be out to talk to me. I immediately thought the only reason that they wouldn’t let me go back and someone had to talk to me first, was that my mother had died. If you know my family, or me at all you know how much family means to us. My parents, brother, sister in-law and I are extremely close and our love for one another runs deep. I couldn’t bear it; I collapsed in the waiting room sobbing thinking my mom was gone. Right then my dad arrived and told me exactly what happened and that she was still alive. Finally the staff member joined and briefed us on what to expect.

We entered the room, her arm was bandaged and obviously missing a part. Trying to be strong for my mother, my dad and I held back tears as we reassured her that she was going to be just fine. My mother said that everything will be ok, and our family will get through this. Not once did she pass out or even cry, this woman is the strongest person I have ever seen. It took everything we had to see her in this state without breaking down in front of her.

The doctors decided that my mother needed to be flown to Salt Lake City to have the best care that she most desperately needs. My dad was able to join her in the helicopter so he could be by her side. She said that the trip was the most painful thing she ever endured, the whole trip she was not given anything to help with pain(I don’t know why). Once she arrived to SLC and was immediately taken into emergency surgery, were they would determineifher hand would be savable.  About an hour in the doctor informed my dad that her hand was too damaged to be reattached. A couple hours later she was out of surgery.

My dad was and still is really emotional. The doctors were very informative giving my dad a timeline of what is to be expected in the next month. As you could imagine he is so overwhelmed; I am sure he has no time to even think about taking care of himself. Fortunately, my brother was able to drive to SLC to be there for my dad and mom. He was able to take all the essentials (clothes, hygiene stuff, and meds) to them.

My mom has a long road ahead of her, and will need all the prayers and support you can possibly give. She will be having surgery on Monday and another on Thursday. Monday they will be determining the tissue that is being rejected and remove it. During this time they will also find out how much of her arm will need additional amputation. On Thursday, the doctors will be taking skin grafts from her thigh to transfer to her arm.

Recent preventative protocols have made it mentally exhausting. Only one person is aloud in the room at once, so our family can’t congregate around her and be together. Having to stay home has been very hard for me, I feel guilty that am not able to be there for her. Thankfully we have amazing friends that have reached out to help us. She is doing very well, and is in good spirits. She has been so positive and strong from hour one, I don’t understand how. My mom is the kind of person who will drop everything for someone in need. Even with missing a part of her arm, by being positive she continues to help us get through this difficult time. This woman will never stop fighting no matter how many times she is knocked down, or how bad it  hurts.

I have created this GoFundMe to keep all our loved ones informed. I will be using this to update everyone on her progress. I ask that if you wish to contact us please call me first and not my dad. He has a lot to processes right now and I want to be able to remove any additional stress as possible. Please understand that we appreciate everyone and will definitely need your help as we take this journey.
I do not like to ask for help usually, but this is an emergency that will require a lot of financial support as much as emotional support. At this point, we will essentially be living part time in SLC. Each of us will be swapping out so family is by her side at all times. Gas, car maintenance, food and hotel cost to name a few that will be an immediate severe financial hit. Medical bills will quickly be adding up, home health will be needed, prosthetics, meds that insurance doesn’t cover, physical therapy that insurance will only approve so many visits before you are responsible for the rest. I honestly have no idea of what all we need to prepare for. I am trying to do everything in my power to help, I just don’t know what else to do.

Everything will help and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support even if it is not monetary.
If you would like to contact me please do so through facebook or my cell phone. Please be patient with response time as I work full time and go to school full time. I WILL get back to you! We will be utilizing all of you, in times we need to talk or could use help with our animals if we are in SLC.


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