Wendy Broseh's Long Journey

Hi, my name is Robbie McGuire, the mother of Wendy Broseh. This GoFundMe account is being established for medical, travel, and related expenses for Wendy's medical conditions.  In the year 2020 Wendy was out of pocket $6,000 + just for medical bills and medicine.  It is very difficult to pay your household bills plus all your medical expenses on disability.  She has to pay $500 a month to cobra her insurance until she can get retirement from her teacher retirement system in Texas.  We are out anywhere from $600 to $2,200 in expenses when we go to a doctor out of town . This is just for doctor's visit, motel expenses, and food while we are there.  We live in West Texas and her doctor is in Plano, TX.  Sometimes it is very expensive to fly because they do not give us enough time to get the lower rates.  Wendy is at the point where she can no longer drive because the pain becomes an even higher level of excruciating and raises her risk of a blood clot.  She has already had a PE clot in her lung and a DVT clot in her left leg.

Wendy was very active as a teenager playing basketball and softball.  She loved playing sports. She went to college to become a teacher.  She taught first, second, third, fourth, seventh, and eighth grades. She got her dream job as a media specialist/librarian.  Wendy still is in touch with some of her students. She loves books and misses her students to this day.  

In 2010 Wendy found out she had severe asthma caused by the environment.  This asthma was treated by steroids. Because of her asthma she had to use high dosages of steroid for long periods of time. 

It was then discovered she had heart problems. Wendy developed sick sinus syndrome which is a racing heart.  Ultimately she had to have a pacemaker to pace her heart.  She is 100% dependent on her pacemaker.  She also has pacemaker syndrome which in her case is right side congestive heart failure. She had a staph infection in her original pacemaker pocket.  We had to go to Dallas to an expert in removing the leads of the pacemaker without damage to her heart.  She had a pacemaker attached to her face with one lead in the jugular vein for a week to get the infection in control.  The doctor then placed her pacemaker on the right side and ran leads to the heart.    

Due to the use of steroids to treat her asthma Wendy developed avascular necrosis in all four long bones in her legs ( tibia and femur bones).  Avascular necrosis is the death of  bone tissue due to a lack of blood supply.  It is associated with use of high dose steroid medications.  Avascular necrosis is most common in people between the ages of 30 and 50. 

Wendy went to her local orthopedic surgeon to find out why she had so much pain in her legs.  Xrays and CT scans were done on both of her legs.  It was determined that she had avascular necrosis.  No one in our area had ever seen this condition outside of a textbook and did not know the treatment.  This started our search for a doctor who could help her.  Several doctors told us either they did not know how to treat it or the joints would have to collapse before anything could be done.  We finally found an orthopedic oncologist in Plano, TX. He told her he could help her but it was going to be painful.  Wendy had a total knee revision done on both legs.  We had prayed this would be the end of her journey with her knees and pain.  Later Wendy started having trouble with her legs.   It was determined that there was a nickel component in her implant. Wendy is allergic to nickel.  In the United States up to 81% of the population has a nickel allergy.  This allergy caused the implant on her left leg to fail.  She had a second knee revision on her left leg which has failed as well.  Her left leg is very unstable and very painful.  After four hospitalizations to treat her for what was thought to be cellulitis it was finally determined she was having a reaction to one antibiotic.  The bone and soft tissue of her left leg is damage.  Her orthopedic oncologist has recommended amputation above the left knee. 

Wendy had to resign her teaching position as a media specialist/librarian.  She is in the process of filing for medical disability.  She has large medical bills for treatments and medicine.  The cost of the travel to see her orthopedic oncologist and her heart failure specialist are costly.  She is having trouble keeping up with the expenses. She certainly does not want to loose her home, vehicle, or anything else.  There will be future expenses to make her bathroom safe for her to use.   

All donations will be used strictly for medical expenses not covered by insurance, travel for doctor visits and lodging if needed, and related expenses needed for Wendy's medical conditions.  It is my prayer you have it in your heart to make any donation you can.  If you are not able to donate could you please pass this GoFundMe on to others.  It will be greatly appreciated by Wendy and myself. We also would appreciate prayers for her during this trying time.

On May 28, 2021, Wendy had 2 CT scans with and without contrast.  This is in preparation to have her prosthetic leg made.  Once we have the discs in hand we will set up an appointment with her orthopedic oncologist to start the process  for the amputation of the left leg above the knee.  We are very grateful for those of you who have been able to donate.  We are also very thankful for those of you who  have shared our story.  The more people who see it the more likely we will meet our goal.  Prayers are requested as we venture into this new process of amputation we have to face.  Wendy is not sure how long it will be before the actual surgery is done.  She has to be ready to look down and see that she no longer has a left leg.  After much research Wendy decided that the fused leg is just to difficult for her to be able to return to some new normal in her life.  If you can donate even $5.00 it would help her.  If you have any doubts about the money going for what it is intended for please refer to the GoFundMe Guarantee.  These expenses are truly meant to cover Wendy's medications for her medical conditions, travel to and from the doctor for her pre-operative and post-operative needs, and any other related expenses needed for her medical conditions to make her home safe for her and enable her to be able to take care of her needs without extensive help.  God bless all of you and we are praying for your safety and health as well.  We will update as we can.

Wendy has had at least 3-4 falls lately because the left leg cannot help her keep her body up and walking.  This is the reason it is so critical to get the surgery to become a reality.  

Wendy had 2 falls within 24 hours.  She did not break any bones.  She cut her index finger on her right hand. She has rented a wheel chair for a month to use to get up at night and not risk a fall.  We moved up her doctor's appointment up to June 10, 2021, to talk with the doctor about starting the process for the amputation.  It is one of the hardest decisions she has had to make in her long journey.  I will be with her every step of the way.  I need to find her a book to read on the steps of grief to help her through the amputation.  Please say a prayer for her as she prepares her journey and we travel to the doctor in Plano, TX.  We are asking once again you share her GoFundMe page with others to help us reach out as far as we can.  Please donate if you can.  Or share her GoFundMe page with others.  We appreciate  each and everyone of you for the donations, sharing of the page, and the prayers.  You mean so much to Wendy and myself.  

On June 15, 2021, Wendy had a doctor's appointment to discuss the results of the CT scans with and without contrast.   Her doctor kept telling us that her CT scans were not normal.  They were bizarre.  He had never seen anything like this except twice in his career.  She had a row of 5 lymph nodes in her left groin that were swollen.  He wanted to be sure he was not missing something obvious so he had a needle biopsy done on the left lymph nodes to be sure there was not lymphoma present.  We had to come back to Plano for a biopsy on June 18, 2021.  Wendy got her results on June 24, 2021.  Thank the Lord there was no lymphoma present.  We will find out tomorrow if her amputation of the left leg above the knee will be done on July 21, 2021.  Wendy wants me to have a break from being the only one in the surgical waiting room. Her partner and her son will be there with her.  I will trade out with them on Sunday and be there for her in house physical therapy.  Hopefully this will go quickly for her and we will be home soon.  Please donate if you possibly can.  Even $5.00 would help her reach her goal.  Please share the GoFundMe with your family, friends, and your co-workers.  All prayers are deeply appreciated.  Thank you for what you have done.  We deeply appreciate your help.  Wendy is almost completely out of funds on this account already.  Any help we can get is deeply appreciated.  God bless you and stay safe.