Strong as Steele - I will Survive
Donation protected
Kim Gilliam - Steele
STRONG AS STEELE – I WILL SURVIVE
Who knew a week after Mother’s Day my 49 year old daughter Kim and our families life would change forever!
On May 14, 2016 we received a call that Kim was not feeling well and having difficulty breathing. Kim has Crohn’s Disease and two small cancer spots were recently found on her colon just a couple of weeks before. She started a new medication just 4 days prior and something shut down her immune system.
When my other daughters and I arrived at Henry Piedmont ER early that morning within an hour her heart stopped three times, the liver and kidneys were shutting down and she had Sepsis. In order to save her life they had to block blood flow and keep it going to the vital organs. She finally was stable enough to go to ICU and was ventilated and put in an induced coma later in the day.
We were told by night fall that she had a 9% chance of surviving, unsure if she had suffered brain damage or heart damage, the outcome was grim. A few days later she was taken off the ventilator and miraculously was still with us.
Due to the blockage of blood flow, her hands turned dark and the bottoms of her feet and toes within a couple of days. Kim lost her hands at the wrists on June 6th and yet managed to smile. What a WILL TO LIVE!!
Surgeons met with us on June 13th regarding her lower legs and feet. For now they are electing not to remove them and are seeing how they heal, but she will more than likely lose her feet up to the ankles.
After being at Piedmont Henry for 35 days, she was transferred to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Facility in Newnan, Georgia on June 17, 2016 to start rehab before her next surgery on her feet/legs. Once home she will require specialized transportation as well as a special lift to move her around as she cannot be on her legs and feet whatsoever. She will also require a motorized chair, caregivers and much more. We just do not know how much more or what will be needed in order for her to heal and try to get back to “as normal a life” as possible.
So we are asking for help for our Kim who has more willpower to live than anyone I have ever known. We know God is healing her and answered our prayers as she is still with us.
While we are a proud family we are going to do what it takes to care for her. She wants to LIVE and we want her to live happily as she has suffered a great loss and could suffer more, so we want to do all we can to give her all the love and support possible.
Your generous donation will assist us in giving her all that she needs or may need.
Thank you for helping us in Kim’s quest to FIGHT, LIVE and WALK again!! As you can see in the photo taken at Newnan on Saturday, her feet are turning dark, but she is fighting.
“This story would not be possible to share without the incredible care of the Nurses, Doctors, Specialists, Physical and Occupational Therapists, and even the Cleaning Staff of Piedmont Henry Hospital that have done such a magnificent job in saving her life and supporting her will to live!”
Joyce Gilliam, Mother
by Vickie Gilliam on behalf of Kim Gilliam - Steele
Strong As Steele – I Will Survive
Kim Gilliam - Steele
STRONG AS STEELE – I WILL SURVIVE
Who knew a week after Mother’s Day my 49 year old daughter Kim and our families life would change forever!
On May 14, 2016 we received a call that Kim was not feeling well and having difficulty breathing. Kim has Crohn’s Disease and two small cancer spots were recently found on her colon just a couple of weeks before. She started a new medication just 4 days prior and something shut down her immune system.
When my other daughters and I arrived at Henry Piedmont ER early that morning within an hour her heart stopped three times, the liver and kidneys were shutting down and she had Sepsis. In order to save her life they had to block blood flow and keep it going to the vital organs. She finally was stable enough to go to ICU and was ventilated and put in an induced coma later in the day.
We were told by night fall that she had a 9% chance of surviving, unsure if she had suffered brain damage or heart damage, the outcome was grim. A few days later she was taken off the ventilator and miraculously was still with us.
Due to the blockage of blood flow, her hands turned dark and the bottoms of her feet and toes within a couple of days. Kim lost her hands at the wrists on June 6th and yet managed to smile. What a WILL TO LIVE!!
Surgeons met with us on June 13th regarding her lower legs and feet. For now they are electing not to remove them and are seeing how they heal, but she will more than likely lose her feet up to the ankles.
After being at Piedmont Henry for 35 days, she was transferred to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Facility in Newnan, Georgia on June 17, 2016 to start rehab before her next surgery on her feet/legs. Once home she will require specialized transportation as well as a special lift to move her around as she cannot be on her legs and feet whatsoever. She will also require a motorized chair, caregivers and much more. We just do not know how much more or what will be needed in order for her to heal and try to get back to “as normal a life” as possible.
So we are asking for help for our Kim who has more willpower to live than anyone I have ever known. We know God is healing her and answered our prayers as she is still with us.
While we are a proud family we are going to do what it takes to care for her. She wants to LIVE and we want her to live happily as she has suffered a great loss and could suffer more, so we want to do all we can to give her all the love and support possible.
Your generous donation will assist us in giving her all that she needs or may need.
Thank you for helping us in Kim’s quest to FIGHT, LIVE and WALK again!! As you can see in the photo taken at Newnan on Saturday, her feet are turning dark, but she is fighting.
“This story would not be possible to share without the incredible care of the Nurses, Doctors, Specialists, Physical and Occupational Therapists, and even the Cleaning Staff of Piedmont Henry Hospital that have done such a magnificent job in saving her life and supporting her will to live!”
Joyce Gilliam, Mother
by Vickie Gilliam on behalf of Kim Gilliam - Steele
Strong As Steele – I Will Survive
Kim Gilliam - Steele
Organizer
Kim Gilliam Steele
Organizer
McDonough, GA
Inspired to help? Start a fundraiser for someone you know
