An Unbelievable Journey
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This GoFundMe page is being started for one of the dearest ladies anyone could ever be blessed to know. Sheryl Snellings is the type person who would do anything for anyone and would give her last dime to help someone else in need. She has been through quite a journey with health issues over the last 7 years and this has taken a huge toll on her family’s finances with her unable to work. The condensed story is that Sheryl has had a cast on her right foot since December 2014 (almost 3 years) and after full reconstruction surgery on her right foot 2 weeks ago, she is faced with not being able to return to where her husband resides (with his sister) because Sheryl cannot navigate stairs and the bathrooms and bedrooms are all upstairs in that home. With mounting medical expenses and complex life circumstances, her family cannot support 2 households. We are trying to help Sheryl secure 6 to 8 months of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible housing to give her time to heal. We want to help Sheryl get back on her feet, both figuratively and literally!!
For indepth details of Sheryl’s journey, the story began in 2009 when Sheryl was caring full time for her elderly mother with Alzheimer’s. One night a vein popped in Sheryl’s left leg. During surgery they found that her veins were intermingled and they had to straighten them out, a condition she was apparently born with. An ultrasound of her right leg revealed she had the same problem and surgery was required to straighten the veins as a preventative measure. Five surgeries later, her veins still were not straight, and unfortunately, during one of the surgeries Sheryl contracted MRSA, a dangerous super bug staph infection.
Since that time, Sheryl has struggled to regain her health. The MRSA attached to 3 other infections that traveled her body and settled in between bones in her right foot, causing bones to twist and break. An open wound developed. After 18 months of casts and treatment, the 4 inch by 4 inch wound still would not close and heal. Doctors wanted to amputate her leg, which Sheryl was determined to save. A new trial for open wounds started between MCV and UVA. Sheryl was admitted to the trial. It involved treatments and a series of suspensions casts to keep her foot from ever bearing weight. Sheryl saw the light at the end of the long tunnel earlier this summer when they found the wound within ¼” of closing. Her last cast was put on…but in a terrible turn of events, the cast was put on incorrectly and within 2 days she could not tolerate the pain and swelling and her leg was turning blue. She had to have emergency surgery to repair her foot, which had a dislocated ankle and broken medial bone. The screw that was supposed to hold her foot together would not stay in place. She could not return to where she and her husband were living (with his sister) due to the stairs situation, so she was admitted to a skilled nursing facility for 3 weeks as she awaited total foot reconstruction surgery. After the 7 hour surgery on 9/6, Sheryl was in the hospital a week and is currently residing in another skilled nursing facility that her insurance will no longer pay for.
Since Sheryl cannot bear weight on her foot until January at a minimum, the need for ADA housing is urgent. The cheapest spaces she has been able to locate are about $1000/month. She has to have money to secure a space. Sheryl is more than willing to work – she has worked since she was 14 years old. But now is the time for her to heal and focus on regaining her strength and her mobility.
After battling so long for her health and for her life to regain a sense of “normalcy,” Sheryl is in a position where she must accept the love offerings of her friends and church family to get through this crisis. Sheryl’s parents are deceased and she has no living aunts/uncles to assist her in this time of need. Her 3 children love and adore their mom, but they are having their own trials and struggles at this time and are not able to assist her with adequate housing or with enough money to secure a place to live.
Please consider donating to Sheryl’s recovery fund in any amount! Even in her great need, she is such a joyful person with an incredible positive attitude! Her faith in God has sustained her through all of these trials and she remains confident of His provision as the rest of her story unfolds. As she has said often, her setbacks are a set up for good things to come, with God in control of it all!
All donations are so greatly appreciated…thank you!!!
For indepth details of Sheryl’s journey, the story began in 2009 when Sheryl was caring full time for her elderly mother with Alzheimer’s. One night a vein popped in Sheryl’s left leg. During surgery they found that her veins were intermingled and they had to straighten them out, a condition she was apparently born with. An ultrasound of her right leg revealed she had the same problem and surgery was required to straighten the veins as a preventative measure. Five surgeries later, her veins still were not straight, and unfortunately, during one of the surgeries Sheryl contracted MRSA, a dangerous super bug staph infection.
Since that time, Sheryl has struggled to regain her health. The MRSA attached to 3 other infections that traveled her body and settled in between bones in her right foot, causing bones to twist and break. An open wound developed. After 18 months of casts and treatment, the 4 inch by 4 inch wound still would not close and heal. Doctors wanted to amputate her leg, which Sheryl was determined to save. A new trial for open wounds started between MCV and UVA. Sheryl was admitted to the trial. It involved treatments and a series of suspensions casts to keep her foot from ever bearing weight. Sheryl saw the light at the end of the long tunnel earlier this summer when they found the wound within ¼” of closing. Her last cast was put on…but in a terrible turn of events, the cast was put on incorrectly and within 2 days she could not tolerate the pain and swelling and her leg was turning blue. She had to have emergency surgery to repair her foot, which had a dislocated ankle and broken medial bone. The screw that was supposed to hold her foot together would not stay in place. She could not return to where she and her husband were living (with his sister) due to the stairs situation, so she was admitted to a skilled nursing facility for 3 weeks as she awaited total foot reconstruction surgery. After the 7 hour surgery on 9/6, Sheryl was in the hospital a week and is currently residing in another skilled nursing facility that her insurance will no longer pay for.
Since Sheryl cannot bear weight on her foot until January at a minimum, the need for ADA housing is urgent. The cheapest spaces she has been able to locate are about $1000/month. She has to have money to secure a space. Sheryl is more than willing to work – she has worked since she was 14 years old. But now is the time for her to heal and focus on regaining her strength and her mobility.
After battling so long for her health and for her life to regain a sense of “normalcy,” Sheryl is in a position where she must accept the love offerings of her friends and church family to get through this crisis. Sheryl’s parents are deceased and she has no living aunts/uncles to assist her in this time of need. Her 3 children love and adore their mom, but they are having their own trials and struggles at this time and are not able to assist her with adequate housing or with enough money to secure a place to live.
Please consider donating to Sheryl’s recovery fund in any amount! Even in her great need, she is such a joyful person with an incredible positive attitude! Her faith in God has sustained her through all of these trials and she remains confident of His provision as the rest of her story unfolds. As she has said often, her setbacks are a set up for good things to come, with God in control of it all!
All donations are so greatly appreciated…thank you!!!
Organizer and beneficiary
Connie C. Simmons
Organizer
Mechanicsville, VA
Sheryl Snellings
Beneficiary
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