I am Kathryn, organizing this for my loving mom, Janet. Over the past 2+ years, Mom’s quality of life has truly been neglected as she pushed herself to live as best she could through a series of medical challenges. She received a diagnosis of Charcot foot long after the disease had destroyed the integrity of her foot and despite her continuous efforts to receive focused medical attention for the neuropathy and severe swelling. Unfortunately, the time that passed with this disease forbade the option of reconstructive surgery. Months without a shoe - nothing would fit and the cumbersome, medically-fitted shoe was costly. Avoiding grocery stores because walking was unsteady, slow, dangerous and exhausting. Each day, all day, every hour, the effects of her damaged foot were incapacitating. The small things we take for granted were impossible feats. Yet, to everyone she was tough and put on a face of durability through the prolonged suffering of a dying foot. Ultimately, in June the disease came to the apex of anguish when the doctor said her weeks of hospitalization from constant vomiting and nausea would only subside with amputation. The loss of a limb, and only eight inches below the knee. And her wonderful self calls it a “new leg” with optimism of the life she still gets to live. Unwarranted shame and suffering. It’s time for Mom to come home from rehab - insurance won’t pay any more despite her requests to stay longer. The struggle now is creating a space that allows her to live at home. The learning curve of a prosthetic only begins once the wound has fully healed, and doctors expect that may take until November if everything goes well. My parents' house needs so much work for her to be safe. Getting from the car to the house across the length of a football field and a narrow gravel path is the first challenge. Up the stairs to their home is the next. An accessible shower on the main floor where there is no shower yet, a shower chair, a walker (insurance will only cover a wheelchair), safety bars in the bathroom, fees to dispose of items stored in her new living area where there needs to now be a bedroom, income for the mortgage and bills while she is unable to work and my dad is caring for her, and the unsettlingly long list continues. If you can donate to help us ease this transition and create a “new home” for my mom to return to with her “new leg,” we would be eternally grateful. This has been unimaginable for us all, and the financial burden is excessive. Any funds received here will be used to modify her home to be liveable within her restrictions and help my parents survive financially through this time. I truly hope safety and comfort will be ahead for my mom, despite the inherent challenges of re-learning how to move.
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