Let's help Boomie pay her bills while she is sick

Hi, my name is Shannon Oeler and I am fundraising for my dear sister-in-law, Boomie (Alicia Gundrum). For those of you who don't know her, she is my husband's sister. First, I just want to say that Boomie is one of the most caring and happy people that I have ever met. It takes a lot to bring her down, she is a cup-half-full gal for sure. Right now though, Boomie is down, in every way, she is down and rightfully so.

As many of you know, Boomie had surgery almost 3 weeks ago for her ongoing struggle with diverticulitis. The surgery involved removing a 12" section of her intestines. 3 days after being discharged from the hospital, she became violently ill and was in excruciating pain. At the ER, her CT scan showed a leak where the small intestine had been reconnected during her surgery. She was leaking stool into her abdomen. She was transferred to a different hospital that day, where she underwent emergency surgery to repair the leak and clean the stool from her abdominal cavity. Unfortunately, the doctors had to create a colostomy.

In case anyone doesn't know what a colostomy is, it is when they take a portion of the colon and pull it through to the outside of the abdomen and this is where the stool comes out and is collected into a colostomy bag. Not fun, can you, personally, imagine having this? The purpose of the colostomy is to allow the section of the intestine that was reconnected to heal. The doctors anticipate that Boomie will have the colostomy for a year or so before they will consider reversing it.

Following this surgery, Boomie was again in excruciating pain. Her pain was untouchable, no matter what medication she was given. After several days of this pain, they found a 10 cm abscess deep within her abdominal cavity. She underwent another procedure to drain the abscess which resulted in even more excruciating pain afterward due to the entry point through her butt cheek/muscle. 200ml of pus was drained from the abscess and she now has a drain coming from that site. This has made it very difficult for her to walk, to bear weight on that leg.

Boomie has shed so many tears and endured so much pain these past couple of weeks and she is not out of the woods yet. She has a long recovery ahead of her. She has 3 abdominal incisions that are open and not healing well, the drain in her buttocks and the colostomy. She is still dealing with a lot of pain, nausea & vomiting. After she is discharged from the hospital, she will need nursing care and eventually, when she is able, to learn how to care for her colostomy.

During this time, Boomie has been unable to work and will be unable to do so for an undetermined amount of time. Our goal is for her to spend some time in a rehab facility once she is discharged from the hospital. There she can hopefully heal and regain her strength. Please pray for Boomie to experience healing, for her nausea to cease, for her to regain strength and for her pain to be controlled. We are asking for a financial donation to help Boomie pay her bills during this difficult and life-changing time. Any amount that is placed on your heart to give will be immeasurably appreciated. Thank you and please please please share this Go Fund Me with everyone that you know.

P.S. Tony got yhis tiny smile out of her a couple of days ago. She seemed to be finally turning a corner and improving once they drained the abscess and started stronger antibiotics. However, she started with nausea and vomiting again last night so it's been rough. Thank you so much in advance for your generosity.