Carnevale Family - Care for Kelly
Donation protected
1.30.2024 evening update - Kelly is doing fabulous! I'd never know she had surgery today from looking at her. She's acting like herself other than she can't talk :)
They are going to biopsy the tissue they took to make sure they got it all out.
updates - today is the big day. Hopefully the end of the saga, culminating with Kelly's throat surgery to remove the cancerous cells. I don't really know exactly what they're doing today...she doesn't either. She goes in around 11 though for them to do whatever they're gonna do. Prayers, please, for a non-complicated surgery that gets all of the evil cancer cells out!
Her shoulder is healing but she still can't lift much. She has been going to PT 3x a week. She's still put of work because she doesn't have her full range of motion back. Probably at least a few months and then she'll have to find another job.
That's all for now...will update again after surgery with updates on how she's doing. Prayers appreciated!!
12.4.2023 updates
Let's start with the amazing news:
Kelly is out of her rotator cuff surgery, they gave her a nerve block so she shouldn't feel any pain for awhile, and no major issues like the blood pressure, bladder stitching, and other problems she had last time. She was sleeping when the dr came to tell Joe she was done and doing well and I was on the phone with him when the anesthesiologist came so I got to hear it all first hand.
We also had some amazing people step up with additional donations and they made sure the kids will get a nice Christmas. Thanks so much to all of you who have prayed, donated, spread the word, sent food or meals, or even just asked how she was. It means so much to Kelly, her family, and her friends (especially me!!).
Mediocre news: The surgeon said it was the most complicated rotator cuff they've ever done, mostly because they waited so freaking long to do it, she had started healing incorrectly so they had to fix all that. I'm sure it will increase her heal time and pain at some point, but glad it's over.
She still hasn't gotten the check from insurance for her car, but they were able to replace Joe's with the same make, model, year and even color he had already but it was $800 more than insurance provided so they had to pony up some. At least they have a vehicle now. Her job pulled one more hit on her...I know this isn't their fault and it's how the system works, but because her job ended 12.1, she got a call today saying they couldn't do the surgery since she lost her insurance through them. Fortunately Joe thought fast and mentioned she was also covered under his and while it got started late, the show did go on. That's another concern to consider now for her throat surgery though and will likely increase what they have to pay towards the bills.
No bad news at the moment really.....so actually, that's good news. Please keep praying for her continued healing. My biggest worry all along has been her throat and we still have no news on that. She will talk to them later this month and come up with a plan, but I'm nervous all this delay may have allowed for progression requiring more invasive treatments. Thank you all so much for your support. Will send another update when there's more to say. Otherwise, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!"
-Kelly B
So many updates...where do I start?
Good news first, I guess. Kelly is recovering really well from her hysterectomy. She had a lot of unmanageable pain at first with the stents they had to put in for her kidneys but once they came out she felt better almost instantly. Thank goodness she quickly got the hysterectomy because in just the few months from diagnosis to removal, she went from precancer to stage 1. Her blood pressure had been a concern, so the surgeon wouldn't do her shoulder surgery until that came down and she has been able to get it under control with diet changes and medication changes and has been ok'd for shoulder surgery Dec 4th.
Now the bad news:
The family has no car. A few months back, Lexy hit a deer with Kelly's car. It finally got fixed just after Kelly got home from the hospital. Joe hit a deer in October with his car and the insurance company totalled it. Then Kelly hit a deer with her car in November and insurance has just said they're totalling it. She has had the car maybe a year? They are doing a daily rental right now through their insurance company to be able to get around.
Kelly loses her job Dec 1st. FMLA runs out and since she wasn't able to get her shoulder fixed, she hasn't been able to pass the physical to return to work. Her shoulder surgery will be several months of recovery once it's done early December, so money is going to continue to be a strain for awhile.
Still no plan for next steps on her throat. She sees the doctor next month to find out what her options are. It was precancerous but it's been months now. Let's pray it hasn't progressed before they take action.
The family could still really use prayers and financial help if you're in a position to give.
Kelly put together some wish lists for the kids...Christmas is going to be small this year since the bills are piling up and money isn't coming in.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers heading their way. We appreciate you all!
Gianna's wishlist:
Keegan's wishlist:
Lexy's wishlist:
Update:
Kelly had some complications but is stable. Her 1 hour surgery ended up taking 4 hours because her blood pressure and sugar skyrocketed. I am visiting with her now and she looks good. She will hopefully go home tomorrow. She thanks you all for your love and prayers!!!
Hi,
My name is Kelly Benn and my best friend, Kelly Carnevale, is going through extensive medical issues and time off work for at least the remainder of this year.
If you know Kelly, you know she would literally give you the shirt off her back. She is my best friend and the most generous and caring person I've ever met. I do have her permission to share the details below.
Kelly typically works multiple jobs to help with household bills and often makes the meals for the family, but with her recent injury and upcoming surgeries, her husband Joe has really had to take over almost all of those efforts.
Kelly will be out of work for a while now...it's looking like 6 weeks of unpaid time and months of short term/long term disability to address multiple health issues.
Kelly fell a few weeks ago and needs rotator cuff surgery for 2 tears. She can't lift her left arm at all and surgery isn't even scheduled yet. They told her recovery would be 2-3 months once the surgery happens. This is just the beginning of her road to recovery.
Kelly is having a hysterectomy this week due to precancerous cells and other abnormalities and isn't allowed to lift anything for well over a month afterwards. She has already been struggling with her shoulder but this is really going to be challenging. She will be out of work at least until Nov 3rd for recovery.
Kelly has an appointment in November to decide next steps on pre-cancer cells found in her throat. Please pray laser surgery will be enough. She won't be able to talk at all for some time afterwards and won't know much about the impact and recovery from this until after her appointment.
It's unclear yet how much total time Kelly will be out of work, but sounding like between the 3 separate issues, she will have at least 6 weeks of unpaid leave with short/long term disability around that for at least a few months.
It's also unknown at this time how much her family will have to contribute towards medical expenses.
Let's try to make this a little easier for her and her family so she can focus on healing! Thanks so much for your love and support.
Organiser and beneficiary
Kelly Benn
Organiser
Greenwood, PA
Kelly Carnevale
Beneficiary