Imagine seeing a small graze on your left ankle and you think nothing of it. You say to yourself it will heal and the pain is normal. As time goes on, you struggle to walk and the graze becomes an unbearable leg ulcer. You get admitted into hospital with a possible infection. This becomes a serious MRSA infection and is where your journey begins. The cycle continues for the next 4 years and several ulcers start to develop and become complicated to treat. As time goes on, the ulcers turn into severe infections and continue to spread up the leg. Doctors try to piece together the condition and there are no direct answers. Another ulcer starts to develop on your right leg. You are in and out of hospital with reoccurring infections, receiving treatment after treatment. Doctors are puzzled with what to do and the treatments seem to be trial and error. You find yourself undergoing wound debridements that don't heal, you have an open wound that exposes your bone and nerves, you are in constant extreme pain, attending countless specialist appointments with no answers, you have daily visits to the hospital for wound cleaning and re-bandaging (which hurts like crazy when the nurse accidentally touches your nerves), you suffer from recurring infections that leave you in hospital for weeks away from your husband and 2 pre-teen kids. In between, you go to work only to then lose your job because of your illness, you lose a mother-in-law who was like a mother to you, your father has 2 heart blockages but you continue to stay strong for your family and try to get on with life as normal. You still have hope and attempt to try a skin graft on your legs. The skin taken from your other leg does not heal, and both legs become infected again and the pain is unbearable. You are told that the only option to save your health is to have both of your legs amputated. Having a chronic autoimmune disease called Lupus, made healing and recovery impossible. Your positivity starts to fade and you struggle to cope mentally. You become withdrawn and struggle to get through each day. My name is Rosie. This is the story of my cousin's beautiful wife, Marie. As I write this, Marie will be waking and shortly heading to the hospital to have both legs amputated from the knees down. The date of the surgery is 4th August 2024, 2 days before her 43rd birthday. Marie will spend the next 3 months in the hospital to undergo rehabilitation and learn to adjust to life without her legs. What inspires me the most is that my beautiful cousin-in-law remains strong and continues to smile. She is one of the most loving and genuine women I know. Her strong faith keeps her positive. I have set up this GoFund Me page (with permission from my cousin of course) in the hope to raise funds during this difficult time as Marie will be unable to work and times are uncertain. She will require adjustments made to their home, mobility aids like prosthetics plus other aids, while also trying to survive as a family of four. While Marie and her family focus on learning to adjust to their new life and try to cover the cost of treatments, mortgage, and everyday life on one income, at the very least I hope that together with the help of the community, the funds raised will allow Marie to stand and walk again sooner with prosthetics. With my whole heart and soul, thank you for your support and generosity. Every little bit will bring Marie closer to feeling a sense of joy in being able to walk again.
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