Ely's Call for Help: Amanda's Recovery

Hello, my name is Ely Henson. I am Amanda Usry's son. My mother is my hero and her and I are very close. She has raised me by herself and taught me everything I know. We don't have a large family. For the most part, it's just her and I. We are each other's strength. We try to be very humble people. We both believe in working hard for everything you have. We don't like to ask others for help. If we can't do things on our own, then we will go without. That being said, we need help...

On April 10th, 2025 my mother had a left total knee replacement. She has been a nurse for 30+ years and a former police officer for around 5 years. She also currently goes to the University of Alabama and is expected to graduate this December. Her knee was in bad shape and needed to be replaced. After the surgery, her recovery had progressively gotten worse over the course of a week due to a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) in her lungs. She went into cardiogenic shock due to not getting the needed blood and oxygen to her organs. She then also went into kidney failure as a result. Due to her incoherency and inability to express her declining health, I had no idea she was in the process of dying. On April 18th, I noticed my mother's breathing sounded wheezy and painful. I had an intuitive "gut feeling" that something was wrong and I called 911. EMTs checked her vitals and they were dangerously low. The pulse oximeter was reading in the 40s... I quickly got her to the hospital and she was immediately put into ICU. The hospital discovered the blood clot and took action to try to dissipate the blood clot by giving her a TPA (tissue plasminogen activator).

On April 19th, I was notified that the TPA did not work against the blood clot. I was told that she needed to be placed on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) which is a life support machine that acts as an artificial heart and lung, providing temporary support for patients with severe heart and lung failure. She also needed to be transported to a Level II Trauma facility where they could physically remove the blood clot and save her life. An amazing doctor was brought in from out of town. She was transported in the early morning and the blood clot was successfully removed by the afternoon. The doctor told me that she came very close to death, and if I had not called 911 the day before then she would've passed away at home that same night.

After the blood clot was removed, my mother had to stay on ECMO so her heart and lungs could rebuild strength. She was very closely monitored in CCU for four days. On April 20th, which was also Easter Sunday, the doctor notified me that she was going to make a full recovery. It was truly a miracle and blessing from God to receive that news on that holy day. On April 23rd, she was moved to a regular hospital room and on April 27th, she was discharged and came home.

She still has a long road to recovery ahead of her. She still has to maintain physical therapy and recovery for her knee, but she also now has to build the strength back up in her heart and lungs. She still has a foley catheter inserted in her bladder due to the kidney failure and lack of feeling in her bladder. She gets winded very easily and quickly. Small tasks like walking to the bathroom and taking a shower fully exhausts her. I am with her 24/7 to assist her in her recovery, but I won't be able to sustain not working for much longer.

She has multiple different doctor's appointments scheduled to ensure she is recovering as she should. She should be getting the foley catheter removed at some point, but only when we know for certain that she has not suffered from major kidney damage. The doctors have already tested and ensured that she did not suffer from permanent brain, heart, and lung damage. She shakes a little bit and some words can take a little longer to come to her, but that is normal for her recovery and should get better as time goes on. She suffers from amnesia and does not remember what happened from April 10th - onwards. She remembers bits and pieces, and those memories are becoming more clear as time goes on.

Her medical bills are currently adding up and there seems to be no end in sight. As of now it's added up to be just over $500,000. Her insurance is great, but she will be expected to pay a certain percentage out-of-pocket. With every doctors visit comes a co-pay. It's very important that she goes to those doctors appointments, even if that means we divert funds intended for bills. This entire experience has been scary and heavy for the both of us. I am doing all that I can to take everything over and handle the things that need to be handled so my mother can entirely focus on herself and her recovery.

I am so incredibly thankful and blessed to have my mother still here on this Earth. I know she feels the same way about getting another chance at life. Our perspectives and realizations of the little things in life are positively different now. As much as we hate to ask, we realize that it's okay to ask for help and I am asking you to please give whatever is on your heart so my mother can make a full recovery without the stress of getting the bills paid.

During this experience we have received so much love, messages, and support from so many people. I have never once left my mother's side during this life. I stayed strong for her. I stayed with her every night while she was in the hospital. I took over her responsibilities and added them to my own because that's what a son is supposed to do. Even now, I am helping her every day with her recovery. I encourage and motivate her to work a little harder each day so she can recover strong and be back to the amazing woman I know my mother to be. This determined attitude I have was taught to me by her, and I am determined to see things through back to normalcy.

I greatly appreciate any amount that you give. There is no amount too small. Sharing this GoFundMe is worth just as much as giving any amount. If you would like to help her in any way, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you so much, truly from the bottom of my heart.