Aid Karyssa's Recovery and Family Needs

Over the past six months, 30-year-old Karyssa Fleming Baker has been through hell and back, multiple times.

On February 27th, 2024 at 2:45 AM, the mother of three was taken to the ER with severe pain and swelling in her left arm and both hands. Over the next few hours her condition worsened and pain meds were proving to be ineffective. By 7:25 AM she was admitted to the ICU with Septic Shock, Flu B, and Pneumonia. Shortly after being admitted she was diagnosed with Compartment Syndrome in her hands and left arm and she was taken to the OR where they performed an emergency fasciotomy surgery.

While the painful pressure in her hands and arm was alleviated, Karyssa’s health continued to decline. She began experiencing ICU delirium, her blood pressure became unstable and kept dropping, and her organs were failing.

On February 29th at 7:46 AM, life saving measures were ordered to keep Karyssa alive. She was intubated, put in a medically induced coma, and placed on four Vasopressors to try and keep her blood pressure up. They also began her on 24/7 dialysis because her kidneys continued to fail.

Due to her critical condition, she was not stable enough for the surgery she so desperately needed to clean out and close up the wounds on her arms. This delay led to the development of necrotizing fasciitis and myositis. At this point the doctors had no other choice but to remove the dead and infected tissue and muscle from her left arm. Due to the amount of muscle that was removed in her forearm, Karyssa can no longer utilize her left arm and has minimal movement in her fingers.

On March 8th at 5:30 PM, she was successfully extubated. With an increasing chance of living through this ordeal, we thought the hard part might be over. However, throughout the next four months Karyssa experienced over 22 surgeries on her left arm and both feet. Because her blood pressure was so unstable for such a prolonged time, she did not get much blood flow to her feet. This caused limb ischemia and resulted in the amputation of all of her toes.

The doctors identified the cause of the sepsis as streptococcal toxic shock syndrome caused by undiagnosed Strep. The long list of official diagnoses on her medical records includes:

To say it has been a difficult adjustment since she got home is a huge understatement. She is unable to put pressure on her feet to walk and can’t do much with her left arm. This means she requires a lot of assistance while at home. She can’t be home alone with her two young boys (ages 1 and 2 years old) because she’s physically not able to take care of them. She can’t even braid her 9 year old daughter’s hair for school anymore or attend any of her after school activities.

While her husband, Andrew, was able to take FMLA from his job to be with Karyssa and take care of their children this also meant there was absolutely no income coming in for their family for half a year. When you take FMLA, you do not receive a paycheck. Karyssa worked as a hair stylist and co-owns a salon, but she will be unable to continue working her dream job since she cannot use her left arm.

Andrew returned to work at the end of July, but no longer having Karyssa’s income has caused detrimental monetary issues. Needless to say, adjusting to her new reality has not been easy, and dealing with the realities of suddenly becoming a single income household has caused immense financial strain. These stressors do not even include the staggering medical debt they have accrued throughout this journey. This GoFundMe is set up to provide Karyssa and the Baker family financial support while she continues to heal.

The funds raised will go toward:

Thank you so much for your support of Karyssa and her family. I know they are incredibly grateful for it, as am I.

Greta Maas