APOLOGIES FOR SUPER LONG CONTEXT BUT PLEASE READ TO THE VERY END:

Hey everyone! I usually would not do this BUT this family could use a little help, a little love and a lot of support! They have had such a hard road in just a few months. They keep getting one hit after another. If you could find it in your hearts to help out, I know they would be so thankful. Let me tell you a little about this FANTASTIC family….. Kelsi is my (step) daughter from a previous marriage. I got to keep her from that divorce (SUPER BLESSED). She married Justin and he became a (step) dad to Brantlee…… but he became more than that. He became a father. Proved it to the world when he adopted him and gave him his last name in April this year…. So he wasn’t just a step dad he is a DAD who stepped up! Life as they knew it was GREAT Brantlee played football and loved the sport and Rory joined the Jr pro cheer team. THEN in Aug/Sept things changed drastically! I’ll repost Justin’s story from FB:

Firstly, THANK YOU to all the friends and family who have offered their love, support and kindness through our time of difficulty. We're still weathering the storm and will be for sometime. So, your continued prayers and encouragement are much needed and appreciated.

I suppose I should preface this entire story here with an explanation that I've always considered myself the "tough" type of man, generally. The type that "didn't get sick". Well, I was too hard headed and strong willed to get sick anyway. Nothing could stop me. I'd work through colds, flu, stomach bugs, migraines, etc. What didn't kill me made me stronger. Simply, I was too busy and too relied upon to be anything but untouchable...invincible.

Anyway, all that to say that my "rub some dirt in it mentality" certainly made me tough but it eventually cost me.

Sometime in August (so much has happened I can't remember the specific dates), I developed recurring migraine headaches due to what I thought was anxiety. Life was busy and I thought I just needed a break. I kept on trucking for about a week feeling this way and unexpectedly I wound up having a heart attack. Thankfully, a minor one but a heart attack nonetheless.

Here's where the journey begins. I'll give you the cliff notes.

1. Heart attack - CTs and other imaging reveal 95% blockage in an inoperable location in my heart. Luckily, the blockage is minor enough to be dealt with via medication. Note - imaging revealed "wierd" stuff with Spleen but the Heart was the focus of concern at the moment. We address the Heart and ignore the Spleen.

2. Lipitor Allergy - a simple road bump in the journey but still significant. Turns out Lipitor gives me EXCRUCIATING leg cramps. This was another ER visit and I suspect these side effects partially hid the next complication from me for a bit.

3. Blood Clot - the short and sweet of it is that I woke up and my right leg simply wouldn't work. Almost as if it were paralyzed but EXTREMELY painful. Thankfully, my Dad was present when this happened and he was able to practically carry me to the car and take me to the ER. I had a particularly large blood clot in my right leg.

4. 1st Thrombectomy with Fasciotomy - my right leg was cut into and the clot was fished out. As a precaution to prevent further complications from swelling I was essentially fileted from ankle to knee on both sides of my calf and stapled back up. Google it at your own caution. Not fun. I may or may not share my own pics.

5. Blood Infection - now that I'm REALLY sick, the Drs dive in and we start learning more. Turns out I've been fighting 2 different strains of Staph in my blood and at this point the Staph is winning. Remember, I noted earlier that we noticed something wierd going on with my Spleen but chose to put it on the back burner in lieu of the minor heart attack? That was foreshadowing. Now, though, we've discovered that the Staph is affecting my heart and causing "vegetation" on my Mitral Valve. Vandy Wilson decides that my problems are too complicated for them so I'm transferred to St. Thomas in Nashville.

6. Staph and Splenectomy - St Thomas decides that I've had the Staph long enough that my Spleen is essentially "cooked" from fighting the infections. It needed to be removed and quickly. (The Surgeon said is was "FUNKY"....)

7. Mitral Valve - the "vegetation" of my Mitral Valve is progressing. It's minor right now but it's serious enough to initiate serious discussions about replacing the valve and preemptively scheduling Open Heart Surgery. All parties agree that surgery will be within the next week - approx 5 days later.

8. Things Hit the Fan - a few days pass and the vegetation progresses much faster than anticipated. To the point that my Mitral Valve just pops or lets go like a popped birthday balloon. Heart rate blasts through the roof, I can't breathe, extreme chest pain, extreme panic. My heart simply couldn't pump blood anymore with a missing valve and I was awake and aware when it happened. This is absolutely the most scared I've ever been in my life. Ever. It feels like your suffocating but you're still capable of breathing. You're taking deep breaths but getting no relief from oxygen.

9. Emergency Open Heart Surgery - they save my life. They place a new valve in my heart, zip me back up and I'm given a 2nd chance. Not sure why I'm still alive but I am. I had no idea any of this happened. In fact, the most common statements I heard as I was waking up after surgery was "Wow. He made it." or "I can't believe he's alive".

10. 2nd Thrombectomies with another Fasciotomy - luckily and mysteriously, the largest portions of my vegetative heart that just kinda "blew up" wound up in my legs so, they had to be removed and my left calf was fileted too to prevent swelling. (According to what I've been told, usually debris from the heart get pumped or slung UPWARDS toward the brain and "cuts the story short". In my case, most of the debris wound up in my legs.)

11. Mini Strokes - a few little, tiny pieces of vegetation did wind up in my brain through this entire process and I have had numerous mini strokes BUT at this time, there isn't any cognitive damage or loss of physical abilities to speak of.

12. AFiB - the only complication I've had so far is a case of AFiB (Heart Racing) which is apparently pretty common with heart patients. A quick zap to the chest and that's straightened out.

Now, I'm facing 2-3+ weeks of Rehabilitation. I have to learn how to essentially live life with my rib cage and breastbone having been split in two and wired back together. I also need to learn how to walk again since my legs have been incapacitated.

Between the Drs and myself, our suspicion is that I picked these infections up somewhere in my adventures at work. I picked up a scrape or scratch and chose to rub dirt in it and it cost me and significantly affected everyone around me.

All of this at the SUPER young age of 36!!!

Then Rory needed cast placed on not one but both feet to correct her walk AND now Brantlee needs special contacts to slow his failing eye sight.

As you can guess Justin is not able to return to work so Kelsi is doing all she can to stay afloat. She is a strong and determined young lady!

If you’ve made it this far….. THANK YOU! If you’re felt to help out then THANK YOU AGAIN! Any amount helps, as it will add up.