Bye bye Deadleg (Joe Murillo)
Donation protected
My name is Alexia Murillo. This is a story about my husband Joe Murillo, and how unexpected events changed our lives forever...
It all started the night before Thanksgiving back in 2012. Joe and I went out for dinner with friends. Our daughter (Aubrey) was staying the night with my mom, so we were excited to have some time to ourselves. As we finished dinner some of my girlfriends wanted me to meet up, so I met the girls and Joe headed home to rest up for Thanksgiving. After he parked in front of our house he was approached by 3 men, they opened his car door, and demanded his wallet. He told them no, and as he went to step out of his car, the men shot my husband. The bullet went through his femoral artery causing him to bleed profusley. As Joe crawled through the yard trying to get to the house, he managed to get his belt off and use it as a tourniquet. He was yelling as loud as he could for help. Our neighbor just so happened to hear him and called the police immediately (Thank goodness for Judy). The police and ambulance were on the way. So at this point I have no idea what is going on until I get a call from the chaplin (holy shit) at the hospital. So I called a cab and hauled ass to the hospital. I got to see Joe for a second before he went under for emergency surgery. Then the entire family arrives, everyone was worried and asking me what had happened, but I didn't know because I wasn't with him. Luckily he lived, (hallelujah) and it was now on to ICU. During that time he developed blood clots for which he had to have a filter put in place to keep them from moving to his heart, lungs or brain. He also developed compartment syndrome in his lower leg, which lead to an emergency double fasciotomy in an effort to try and save his leg. The vascular surgeon made two giant incisions on each side of his calf to relieve the pressure. So all that, a week in ICU and another week in regular care. Then we're homebound with a wound vac, home nurse and a dead leg. Did I mention when they did the faciotomy he lost all feeling except pain in his foot and calf and lost all motor function in it as well? (yea, overwelming I know) By this time Christmas is approaching and shits getting real with bills, life and catching up. They tried to remove the bloodclot filter 2 different times, finally getting it on the second try. So all this happens and life is crazy with the holidays and my husband is stuck on the couch. Not to mention I'm working like crazy to try and not lose everything. We had a little money coming in but we are not rich by any means, so anyway. (stress, stress, stress) So Joe goes back to work in February 2013 (working in the office luckily since he's now handicapped) and we start to get back to life, but now with this new deadleg my husband has to drag around. This painful leg is a constant reminder for our family. It controls us now by limiting what we are able to do. It sucks to put it bluntly. After all this you're probably wondering what the end result will be... Well it's now 2016 and his leg/foot is still dead, only feelng pain (what a way to live). We finally decided (after long thought) to make an appointment to talk about amputation. Joe is tired of the constant pain and surgery after surgery. It is definitly affecting his quality of life at this point. We had an appointment with the surgeon on September 19th to discuss cutting his leg off. The surgeon agrees amputating his leg is his best chance for pain relief and regaining the maximum function possible. Surgery is scheduled for October 25th. The dead leg will be gone before the first of the year. Scary I know, but this is what needs to be done. This is his chance at a fresh start. Joe is my best friend, he is a good person and a great Dad. I love him and want the best for him.
Which brings me to why I'm asking people to join me in our Bye Bye Deadleg Fund. We have medical bills up the wazoo as it is, but we know this is going to be a big bill (duh) and the cost of a prosthetic is astronomical. We just want our lives back. A friend recommended we build this site to get the word out of what happened, and yes we are asking for help. This is very hard for us but we have no other choice. Something has to change, something has to happen for the betterment of our lives. We are thankful for all our family and friends who have been supportive and have been on this ride with us from the beginning.
This will be a new start for us, I think we will be able to live a normal life again with out the damn deadleg. So if you can throw us $5 or $10, anything you can spare will be greatly appreciated. As we start a new chapter and a new ride in this crazy thing we call life.
It all started the night before Thanksgiving back in 2012. Joe and I went out for dinner with friends. Our daughter (Aubrey) was staying the night with my mom, so we were excited to have some time to ourselves. As we finished dinner some of my girlfriends wanted me to meet up, so I met the girls and Joe headed home to rest up for Thanksgiving. After he parked in front of our house he was approached by 3 men, they opened his car door, and demanded his wallet. He told them no, and as he went to step out of his car, the men shot my husband. The bullet went through his femoral artery causing him to bleed profusley. As Joe crawled through the yard trying to get to the house, he managed to get his belt off and use it as a tourniquet. He was yelling as loud as he could for help. Our neighbor just so happened to hear him and called the police immediately (Thank goodness for Judy). The police and ambulance were on the way. So at this point I have no idea what is going on until I get a call from the chaplin (holy shit) at the hospital. So I called a cab and hauled ass to the hospital. I got to see Joe for a second before he went under for emergency surgery. Then the entire family arrives, everyone was worried and asking me what had happened, but I didn't know because I wasn't with him. Luckily he lived, (hallelujah) and it was now on to ICU. During that time he developed blood clots for which he had to have a filter put in place to keep them from moving to his heart, lungs or brain. He also developed compartment syndrome in his lower leg, which lead to an emergency double fasciotomy in an effort to try and save his leg. The vascular surgeon made two giant incisions on each side of his calf to relieve the pressure. So all that, a week in ICU and another week in regular care. Then we're homebound with a wound vac, home nurse and a dead leg. Did I mention when they did the faciotomy he lost all feeling except pain in his foot and calf and lost all motor function in it as well? (yea, overwelming I know) By this time Christmas is approaching and shits getting real with bills, life and catching up. They tried to remove the bloodclot filter 2 different times, finally getting it on the second try. So all this happens and life is crazy with the holidays and my husband is stuck on the couch. Not to mention I'm working like crazy to try and not lose everything. We had a little money coming in but we are not rich by any means, so anyway. (stress, stress, stress) So Joe goes back to work in February 2013 (working in the office luckily since he's now handicapped) and we start to get back to life, but now with this new deadleg my husband has to drag around. This painful leg is a constant reminder for our family. It controls us now by limiting what we are able to do. It sucks to put it bluntly. After all this you're probably wondering what the end result will be... Well it's now 2016 and his leg/foot is still dead, only feelng pain (what a way to live). We finally decided (after long thought) to make an appointment to talk about amputation. Joe is tired of the constant pain and surgery after surgery. It is definitly affecting his quality of life at this point. We had an appointment with the surgeon on September 19th to discuss cutting his leg off. The surgeon agrees amputating his leg is his best chance for pain relief and regaining the maximum function possible. Surgery is scheduled for October 25th. The dead leg will be gone before the first of the year. Scary I know, but this is what needs to be done. This is his chance at a fresh start. Joe is my best friend, he is a good person and a great Dad. I love him and want the best for him.
Which brings me to why I'm asking people to join me in our Bye Bye Deadleg Fund. We have medical bills up the wazoo as it is, but we know this is going to be a big bill (duh) and the cost of a prosthetic is astronomical. We just want our lives back. A friend recommended we build this site to get the word out of what happened, and yes we are asking for help. This is very hard for us but we have no other choice. Something has to change, something has to happen for the betterment of our lives. We are thankful for all our family and friends who have been supportive and have been on this ride with us from the beginning.
This will be a new start for us, I think we will be able to live a normal life again with out the damn deadleg. So if you can throw us $5 or $10, anything you can spare will be greatly appreciated. As we start a new chapter and a new ride in this crazy thing we call life.
Organizer
Alexia Murillo
Organizer
Indianola, IA
