Donations for Caroline Shanks Recovery

On January 4th Caroline was in Colorado skiing with a group of friends, when she had an unfortunate accident and broke her left leg. Luckily the spiral fracture did not reach her ankle, making it an easier, but still very painful, fix. The situation was further complicated as she was in her final week of her current travel nurse assignment in San Diego, CA. Despite this hiccup the plan was to spend 3-4 days in the hospital after having her leg fixed, then have her parents meet her in CA to drive her, Hank, and Ralph along with all of her things back home to Searcy.

After a rod and screws were placed in her left leg, she developed compartment syndrome. Essentially a large amount of pressure developed and blood supply to her tissues was comprised. As a result, the physicians had to create a fasciotomy in order to restore blood flow to her muscle. Sadly, when they did the fasciotomy they discovered her anterior tibialis was dead. After giving the fasciotomy time to restore blood flow, they went in surgically and determined the entire muscle was dead. The only treatment for this was to completely remove the muscle. By this happening, it has completely changed Caroline’s life. 

For everyone unfamiliar with what the anterior tibialis muscle does, it is responsible for dorsiflexing and inverting the foot. It is essential for activities such as walking, running, hiking, or anything that requires moving the leg or keeping the leg vertical. This means these things will be forever changed for Caroline. She will be non-weight bearing for about 8 weeks and then fitted for a boot in which she will begin putting some weight onto her left leg. After she is fully weight bearing months down the road she will have to wear a leg brace in order to walk. This also means she will have permanent foot drop for the rest of her life. Eventually she may be a candidate for a tendon exchange, but for now the focus is getting her out of the hospital and back to Arkansas to begin her recovery. 

Caroline is going to have a very long, difficult road to recovery and we are hoping to help her through monetary donations. Case management has made arrangements for insurance coverage through COBRA, which is for catastrophic events, but it is $500 a month. She will be out of work for a significant amount of time and without any other income. 

Any donations would help in getting Caroline home, paying medical bills, and supporting her during this difficult time. She has brought light and love into so many of our lives and we are hoping to take away at least some of the stress that comes with events like these.