Alethea's Amputation

UPDATE: A New Year, 2020

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I always kick off January with the hope that this new year will be happy, healthy, and harmonious.

This bizarre modern world, that we live in nowadays, is crazy, mad, and demented. There are untold pitfalls and snares to greet us at every twist and turn as we wander our merry way through life.

Alethea ended the year of 2019 with the loss of her left arm and she begins the year of 2020 with the hopes of attaining a new arm, a prosthesis. Unfortunately, due to the fifth surgery she had in December, the prosthesis was put on hold and now she must start again with insurance deductibles. This is another example of how modern medical care and insurance companies complicate our lives.

I have shared before how proud I am of my daughter, Alethea. She is a wonderful person, an awesome mother, and a marvelous daughter. Her generous, nurturing spirit blesses everyone near her. Please share with her family what you can, from your heart- meals, a visit to give her your encouragement, a prayer, a couple of dollars.

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!!!


November 2019, An Update

It has been 2 months since Alethea’s life altering accident. I was honored to spend 4 weeks in her home, with the goal of giving  encouragement, transport to appointments, assistance with wound care, cooking, cleaning, dusting and organizing around the house.

During these 4 weeks, I was regularly reminded that people are good, kind and generous. Donations occurred through GoFundMe, private fundraisers, friends providing frozen meals, etcetera. Every donation, every kind word, every offer of support was and will be treasured.

Various meetings with surgeons, physician’s assistants, cast technicians, therapists, and a prosthetist occurred over these weeks and I found them all fascinating. This's a whole new purview for me.

The morning I arrived at the Denver airport, Alethea’s splint had slipped off her nubbin, causing her a some moments of panic. Her friend Anna was available to drive her to the doctor’s office, where she had to wait until a cast technician drove from Ft. Collins to help replace the splint. Replacing a splint is a 2-person job, who knew?

A few days later, I watched the hand surgeon’s assistant remove 52 staples from the incision stretching from Alethea’s left knee to her left ankle. This incision was made in the removal of a vein that was grafted into her crushed left arm and hand. This was done in a valiant effort to save them, unfortunately, it was not successful due to the damage of the peripheral veins. The hand died leading to the amputation.
During a visit to her main surgeon, he took x-rays of her left elbow to observe how it was healing. We could easily view that a bunch of bits and pieces of bones needed to unite. The elbow is trussed up by a plate and 7 or 8 screws.

The same day, I watched the cast techs building a removable splint for Alethea’s nubbin. I was amazed at what they came up with, true creativity and innovation went into the very special personalized splint for her nubbin.

Humor and not taking yourself too seriously is vital during times of crisis. Alethea is blessed with a great sense of humor. She calls her stump, her nubbin. Her friend Jean said, “Isn’t “nubbin” what Friend’s character Chandler Bing called his third nipple?” Alethea found the answer to be, “Yes.” I think it is hilarious!!

Another week, another appointment, this time the surgeon had his assistant remove the stitches in her nubbin and requested that Alethea leave the splint and bandaging off her nubbin, for air circulation around it, an hour or two each day. He also told her she should start therapy.

Alethea can move her nubbin up and down by bending the elbow, though it is painful. In therapy that is the motion she needs to practice repeatedly, to increase her mobility and get her muscles accustomed to motion again.

The day for a consultation with the prosthetist came, I was excited, curious and maybe a tad bit apprehensive. The prosthetist proved to be a very nice young man (really all of her medical team have been nice young people). Alethea gave him a card with her therapist’s contact information, the two had a need to confer on the desensitization exercises of the nubbin.

The prostetist said there were 5 options:

1)   No prosthetic

2)   A passive, but realistic prosthetic

3)   An electrically powered prosthetic

4)   A hybrid- electrically powered combined with body powered prosthetic

5)   Body powered prosthetic

Alethea was leaning toward a body powered prosthetic, since it is low tech and wouldn’t require a lot of expensive upkeep.

The prosthetist told us a body powered prosthetic has an operating system of cables and harnesses. It uses the muscle movements of the upper arm, shoulder and chest. The muscle movement is captured by the harness and cable system to be utilized by the prosthetic. The durability and basic functionality of this type of prosthesis are a big plus.

Alethea said she doesn’t feel the need for a realistic looking arm and hand, she just wants something useful so she could hold onto a pan handle as she stirs whatever she is cooking.

The prosthetist took some measurements, made a mold of her nubbin and disclosed the news that the next step, the construction of the prosthetic, would depend on the insurance companies’ response. Could be a few weeks, could be a few months. He gave his card to Alethea and said she could call him any time she had questions.

The following Thursday morning, Mike was arriving at the airport. Ronnie and Alethea both had therapy and Alethea had another confab with her surgeon. Only this morning we noticed one small spot on her nubbin that looked infected. Luckily Chuck had installed a steering wheel spinner knob in her car and she had practiced using it. So,  Alethea could drive herself to Loveland and then Ft. Collins, though I wasn’t happy about her not being able to take pain meds after her therapy, I tend to be protective of those I love.

I found Mike at the airport, after missing only one exit. Mike had been awake most of 72 hours, due to flight delays, so he was both exhausted and wired. I had forgotten to get house keys from Alethea, so we went out for some Mexican food and then dropped in, totally unexpected, at our longtime friends Bill and Mary’s place. We caught up on our most recent stories, Mary showed me some of the jewelry she was fashioning, and she gifted a pair of earrings to me. Then, Alethea was home and Mike was anxious to see her, so we headed back across town.

As we walked in the front door, Luna started barking. Not only was Mike a man, but he was wearing a hat. Luna doesn’t like hats, at all. As soon as he took off his hat and sat down she approved of him.

Alethea, at the confab with her surgeon, was given good news. She no longer had to wear the splint and sling, just keep a light bandage and a sock-like cover over the nubbin, and best of all, she could take a shower with covering up in plastic. She also had an antibiotic prescription to treat the infection.

The rest of the week zoomed by quickly. Visiting with friends, family, spending time with Alethea, Sammy, Chuck and their menagerie. It is a wonder to me how relaxing and comforting it is to stroke a cat or dog. I don’t think Alethea could make it through this trauma without that relief, along with the bulwark of family and friends.

I hated to leave, but it was time. Alethea was heading toward recovery, it will be a long road with frequent twists and turns, and with diverse highs and lows. My daughter is a courageous, intelligent, resilient woman. Through this life-changing challenge she will continually gain greater strength and compassion.
 

September 2019

My name is Marilynn Huff, speaking on behalf of my daughter Alethea Watson, along with her husband Chuck and daughter Samantha. I am starting this GoFundMe

Let me give you a snapshot of my daughter Alethea. She is a natural caregiver, has a huge heart and believes disabilities of any kind are not something to stop you from living a happy, full life.

The Back Story
During a family out at Red Feather Lakes recreation area, my daughter Alethea accidentally rolled her side-by-side 4x4 crushing her left arm, pinning her beneath the vehicle.
Fortunately, there were people in the area, who rapidly and willingly rendered emergency assistance, a tourniquet was applied to keep her from bleeding out, blankets were supplied to keep her warm and transport was provided to a location where the flight-for-life helicopter could lift her to the hospital.

Alethea told me she never lost consciousness, throughout this whole ordeal. I can’t imagine the extreme pain and terror my daughter must have endured through this plight.

The entirety of our families declares a huge “Thank You!” to those who assisted Alethea in her time of greatest need.

The Surgeries
Alethea arrived at Medical Center of the Rockies and was taken immediately into her first surgery; it was at least ten hours long. Her arm needed a thorough clean up, repair, clamps, rods, plates, screws, and I have no idea what all. She also required blood transfusions and a vein was taken from her leg and grafted into the arm in the hopes of restoring blood flow to the hand.

Over the following week, through two more surgeries and more uncertainty, Still, Alethea faced the likelihood of amputation.

The next Tuesday the fourth surgery, amputation, was completed removing the hand and arm just short of the elbow and executing some unexpected repair to the elbow.

The doctors discovered an infection in the arm that they’re watching closely and giving her intravenous antibiotics to fight the corruption.

The Expected Expenses
My husband, Mike, is still recovering from a broken ankle and a serious back injury, so we have our own medical bills to pay.  We are waiting to fly to Colorado until Mike is off crutches and Alethea is home and settled, though we would very much like to be with her and the family right now.

The Watson family is currently struggling financially from previous medical bills and these new requests for payment will start arriving soon. Along with the hospital and surgical expenses, Alethea will need home health care, physical therapy and she will undeniably need a prosthesis.

Alethea and her family will be adjusting to such radical changes in their lives, they may all need counseling, I have no way of knowing all of their current or future needs.

Why does Alethea Watson need GoFundMe?
#1) the Watson family already faces medical bills,

#2) the addition of hospital, doctor, surgeon, anesthesiologist, etcetera charges that challenge the family now and upcoming charges they face,  

#3) the unknown factor regarding when Alethea can return to work.

As a mother, my greatest fear is the possibility of the family encountering medical bankruptcy. I don’t want my daughter to deal with such dire straits, especially, at a time when her focus needs to stand steadfast on her own recovery from such a life-changing event.
 
What can you do to help?
Contribute generously to help this hard-working family take care of their mounting bills.

If you could support my GoFundMe by making a donation and then sharing it with your network, I would greatly appreciate it.

I know that money can be tight, so please know that even $5 or $10 helps me get closer to my goal! Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.