Hi, my name is Amanda and I’m Benny’s niece. As most of you are aware my Uncle Ben has had a very rough couple of months. Ben had a diabetic ulcer on his left foot, which ruptured and sent him to the emergency room and wound center several times . After multiple weeks of antibiotics, wound vac and infection treatments the decision was made to remove his big toe. On March 25 his big toe and part of the bone leading to his toe were amputated. This gave us hope that all the infection was gone! On Sunday March 27 a “blister” appeared at the heal of his left foot. On Monday March 28, the surgeon cut the blister open and it was pure infection. More aggressive antibiotics were given in hopes of this new infection not spreading more along with the concern of it reaching his heart. The antibiotics were not working the way the surgeon had hoped so the decision was made to amputate his leg below the knee on Thursday March 31. Family and friends gathered around and prayed as we were prepared for this surgery to save his life. They took him down and about 45 minutes later his daughter Tabitha received a phone call stating surgery had been called off. At 11:33pm the night before he was given blood thinner! We are so thankful that the surgeon noticed blood running from the blockage injection site and checked his charts. Had the surgery happen Uncle Ben would probably not be alive now, from the amount of blood loss. Surgery was rescheduled for Friday at 1:30. Friday came and off to surgery he went! Over 5 hours later Tabitha received a call from the surgeon stating everything went well and he gave her the game plan for recovery. Once Uncle Ben got back to his room the pain was unbearable! The block didn’t work as planned and the pain medicine was not enough to take the pain away. After adjustment were made and another doctor came in the pain started getting a little more manageable. However the medicine kicked in and went to the extreme, his blood pressure dropped super low and he was not responding very well. Test were ran on Saturday and it was determined during the time after surgery he had a heart attack. They removed the catheter on Saturday morning and he was unable to urinate, so more test had to be done. Currently he is back with a catheter and awaiting heart test. They are unable to do anything with the heart attack due to his kidneys not working properly. The pain in the leg is still present but not as severe as the first night.

During this whole process Ben has had terrible back pain from having to compensate for the foot injury. A “unknown” mass was found on the out side of his colon during this time, but it was decided the foot infection was more important.

Tabitha of course is Ben’s entire world and she has been right by his side the entire time. All funds raised will go to medical expenses and to help pay everyday bills for Benny. Our family appreciates any and all help given but we ask that you please continue to PRAY!! This is going to be a massive life style change and a hurdle everyday.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me at anytime. Thank you for loving and caring for my Uncle Ben, he is a true blessing.