Celery Needs a Hand (after nearly losing her arm)

On June 25 Carey (Celery) went to the ER because she was having difficulty breathing.   A DVT (deep vein thrombosis) near her left clavicle was found and she was sent home that evening with orders not to move her arm much.  She met with a vascular surgeon the following day who inserted  a routine catheter in her vein to break it up.  The DVT was too severe; her clavicle and rib had been squeezing a main vein so tightly that the blood in her left arm stopped circulating to her heart.  Her arm swelled like a balloon and she was at risk of losing it completely.   The DVT spanned from her underarm to her neck, and after multiple failed attempts to break it up intravenously she underwent surgery on Friday, July 5th. They removed a 6.5" clot fused to the vein wall cut out part of her uppermost left rib.

We are unspeakably grateful that Carey experienced symptoms that led her to seek medical attention.  If part of a DVT that size had come loose it could have killed her without warning.  Only 4% of DVT patients require surgery and she has a painful three-month recovery ahead after she is discharged from the hospital this week.

We want Carey to devote all her beautiful energy to healing.  This ordeal has been painful, frightening and exhausting but she jokes with her nurses and asks about everyone's day because that's who she is. She cannot work until October at the earliest, and now has medical expenses on top of normal living expenses to worry about.  We hope to relieve her of some immediate financial worries so she can focus on recovery.

Carey has come through for her loved ones in so many remarkable ways. Thank you for coming through for her now.