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Elderly attacked by dogs in Spring Hill

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FEBRUARY 7,2020 WILL FOREVER BE EMBEDDED IN MY MIND.  I'VE KNOWN DOGS TO BITE BUT I NEVER KNEW DOGS WERE CAPABLE OF "EATING" YOU. I was attacked by a pack of dogs(owned by the neighbor directly behind me) in my own backyard, right under my Florida room windows, that literally proceeded to eat me and almost killed me. This was said to be the worst dog attack in the nation, that someone survived, and was all over the news. It was also described as the goriest sight seen by neighbors and rescuers alike, leaving some left with P.T.S.D. I was told that I was totally covered with blood.  My left leg was eaten down to the bone, my ankle was crushed beyond repair, 2 of the smaller toes were torn off but replaced thanks to neighbors placing them in a cooler and if not for my daughter, this leg would have been amputated instead of given the chance to experimentally rebuilding the leg from nothing. My right foot was torn just below the ankle with heel and tissue flapping which was repaired with what little they had to work with but , although usable, I'm left with a giant skin covered cavity on the right side. My upper right thigh had an 8 inch x 6 inch chunk removed and was luckily grafted closed. My lower abdomen had a 6 inch x 10 inch chunk removed and was luckily grafted as well. My left breast had a large chunk removed much like a shark bite that could only be sutured . My upper right arm was ripped of skin and tissue from shoulder, upper armpit,and down below elbow and midway to my wrist and all had to be grafted for closure. The large white mastiff opened his mouth and had my whole head in his mouth, he crunched down as if to crack open a walnut shell, and removed a large portion of my skull that he sped off with along with the attached scalp, as if he discovered a large meat bone, leaving my brain matter exposed hanging out of my head. This bite left me with ripped skin, ears hanging and rips of skin all the way down my neck and throat.  I even had a large cut or bite over my right eyelid that was repaired and over 50 more repairable bites over every portion of my body. The most extensive injuries, skull and brain, and left leg rebuilt from nothing led to over 30 surgeries. Luckily and Thankfully, I had the best surgical team and plastic surgeon at Blake Hospital in Bradenton, Fla. with lots of patience,genuine caring, and pride in their work and capabilities and even knew to call in a great vascular surgeon from out of state with the same self pride,caring, and capabilities.  I was truly a human HUMPTY DUMPTY and challenge for this team to attempt to put back together. They even had to hand scrape murcer from my brain left by the saliva of the unvaccinated dogs. They repaired as much of the skull as possible and inserted modern day skull replacement for the rest. Yes, I will be left with large bald spots as I recuperate but thanks to this medical team, I miraculously survived against all odds and the predictions of most including the O.R. team. It has been a long 5 months of hospitalization and rehab and continuous ungodly severe pain and to top all of this, as I was recovering in the rehab, I faced another life threat and ended up contracting Covid-19 and sent to Tampa General. After surviving this death threat, I returned to the rehab for another month and was discharged on July 13,2020.
I was so happy to finally return home and thought other than my inabilities and severe pain, I could put this ordeal and lengthy fight behind me. Little did I know that another threatening fight was brewing. I had no idea that my insurance company dropped me while I was at Blake just into my recovery and our lovely red,white and blue card stepped in and assigned me another insurance company that is nearly useless.  When I was discharged, I was allotted only 3 days of medications and prescriptions for a few more until my follow up. I WAS NOT AWARE OF THE DIFFERENCES IN MEDICAL INSURANCES AND STATE LAWS UNTIL MY DISCHARGE To my unimaginable horror, the new insurance wouldn't pay for my pain meds and a few others. That isn't all, I had to find new physicians that would accept this new insurance given me. I wasn't ready or strong enough mentally for this fight being physically and mentally drained from my 5 months of ordeals and  was 100% positive that I could not deal with my severe injuries without my pain medication especially.
 Therefore the fight goes on with lots of medical expenses and the road to recovery is a long road. I will never be able to walk again and will be left in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I live alone and the bare minimum for social security. My daughter, son-in-law, and 2 granddaughters live 2 hours away while my other 2 children and their families reside in MA.  My health was good and independent life plan was to live out my years here in Spring Hill,Fl. and crafting in a craft room that was never unpacked and setup. My life, my dreams, my plans were all taken from me in a split second while stepping out my back door. This ordeal has left me barren and broke, as well as physically and mentally drained.  I never imagined being in this position where I would be the one requesting  "HELP"  and remember especially during this hard pandemic time that  $ EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS $  ***PLEASE HELP*** GOD BLESS***

Organizer

Debra Ann Beaulieu
Organizer
Spring Hill, FL

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