Laura's Journey

Laura Jean is my sister and a sweet 52 year old down syndrome Special Olympics Champion in swimming.  She is a truly loving soul.   She has had "floating kneecaps" all of her life.  This has caused her to repeatedly fall and really was very painful for her.   In January of 2019, Laura went to see a surgeon who thought that he could help her by doing a bilateral knee replacement. At that time, Laura was losing her ability to walk and was falling quite frequently and because of where her knee caps had drifted in her legs it caused her great pain. Laura needed to lose 36lbs by September if she wanted to have the surgery and she did it and was so proud of herself. We had known of one other success story with a down's syndrome knee replacement and the doctor was pretty confident he could help her, so we opted for the surgery and a chance for Laura to walk without pain. She had the surgery on September 16, 2019.  We were all very hopeful as in the beginning she was doing so well, she had started going to Physical Therapy and was riding a stationary bike and it looked like things were really looking up for her.  Then she fell in December of 2019. She broke her leg and had a very difficult time healing.   She spent 7 months confined to a bed while she healed.  As most of you know, she got the green light to start standing and pivoting on July 7. Unfortunately, the first time she attempted to pivot, she fell and broke that same leg again On July 13, 2020. It was a devastating break and it caused her prosthetic to move out of place. For this reason she will be unable to bear weight on her leg and she will be rendered to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life.  We so appreciate all of your prayers and support and it is of no fault of our own, her bones are just not strong enough to bear the weight on her small tibias. We have so very much to be thankful for though. We gave it our best shot but there are no surgeries that Laura would benefit from further. Again, thank you all so much for your prayers, thoughts and support. Now we just need to get the house accessible so she can start living again.  Right now she has had to be transported anywhere she goes by two ambulances to carry her down the stairs with a special stair chair and then transfer her onto a stretcher.  As you can imagine, this has been quite overwhelming for Laura.  I hate having  to ask but Laura needs a roll in shower, an exterior door, a 45' handicapped ramp. and a used handicap van. and I just don't know how I am going to be able to do it without asking for help, as I have bee on SSDI since my stroke in 2015.  From the bottom of our hearts we are so grateful for anything you may be able to give.  I just want my sister to live as happy as she can.  Thank you all so much. We honestly could not have gotten through this without all of your support. The surgery was not a complete fail, Laura has no more pain in her knees. Now that is something to be thankful for  <3 God bless you <3