Help Brenda Bounce Back
Donation protected
On October 7th, Brenda McDermott had complete and major rotator cuff surgery. This was not something she had on her to do list this year, the near future, nor the far. How did this happen you may ask? A side effect from an antibiotic called CIPRO caused her tendons to rupture in a matter of just a few days!!! She didn't injure herself... a medication did this to her body.
Brenda has been an athlete for most of her life, more specifically a major swimmer for over 40 years and her body has seen some minor injuries along the way but nothing that had totally taken her out of the game. Not even a hail storm could have kept her out of the pool-lol.
Brenda had to put her holistic remedies to the side and started taking Cipro, an antibiotic for a bladder infection that she could not get rid of naturally. The following day she went about her usual workout routine with a swim until her shoulder, for some strange reason, began to throb forcing her to make the decision to just stop and get out of the pool. She made an attempt to swim again the following day and BAM, a searing pain happened within the first few strokes. She had no idea why that had happened. Brenda could not even pull her arm through the water.
The next few weeks were dedicated to acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, her voodoo miracle man (we all need one of these) physical therapist, rest, ice, essential oils, ART treatment, and anything to help herself. Brenda strongly believes in all these modalities and while they are all out of pocket expenses, she has a great team of practitioners that support her well-being. Sadly, the pain was not letting up.
She decided to do a deep dive into why this was happening and what maybe had been different as far as activity, nutrition, metaphysical connection, sleep position, etc. After reliving her entire day to day routine, the only new thing she could come up with was that she had taken Cipro, which she googled and found so much negative information about it all over the internet— “ Black Box WARNING” tendon tears, strains, and sprains amongst other horrible things.
The pain grew more unbearable to the point where she could not move her arm, so Brenda had went to the orthopedic specialist. They talked about some non-invasive options and he ordered imaging. He also told her that she probably diagnosed herself about Cipro as it happens a lot. Two days later the MRI was received and those non-invasive options were no longer on the table. Brenda had a complete rotator cuff tear (torn totally off the bone) and her only option, in the doctor’s opinion, was surgery. He confirmed that taking the Cipro was the cause of this happening. How could this be? A 2nd opinion then confirmed the same thing.
Brenda is a small business owner of two companies based in San Diego, California and not only will she have to take off work for an extended period of time just from having surgery to recover, she won’t be able to perform her work for an extended period of time. She is a jewelry designer/artist and a fitness professional. Being self-employed is great (over 20 years) but it does not come with paid sick days, disability options nor paid vacation. Although she does have health insurance and it is extremely helpful, there are still many co-pays for doctors, physical therapy, co-insurance for surgery, non- covered treatments in the healing process, Uber rides, a recliner bed rental, special clothing for shirts, and that big deductible. The hospital bills just have started to roll in at over $100K already! Insurance will cover a lot but not enough.
Brenda’s full recovery time is estimated to be 9-12 months in length. She prays and plans to be back working with clients within a reasonable amount of time, however, she will not be able to design jewelry for many months for the stores that carry her line of jewelry for her customers during the busiest times of the year, the holiday season. Brenda is the sole owner and operator of both her businesses.
Funds donated will be used to help cover some of these many costs. For now, she can’t drive for a minimum of 6 weeks or start physical therapy but when she does, physical therapy will be 3 times a week for the first 4 months (new deductible for 2020 -yay:) ) and soon will be down to 2 times a week for a couple months, eventually leading to 1 time a week. Physical therapy has a large co-pay each time and she will also run out of visits allowed for the year in 2020 long before her treatment is done.
Brenda is strong, brave, positive, fit, and will get through this and back! All the things in life that she loves will be awaiting her return. Her friends and family are all hopeful that better days are soon ahead. She is accepting of this new journey as a challenge and a gift. She will fight on!
Thank you all for your consideration, support and for your prayers.
Jamie
Brenda has been an athlete for most of her life, more specifically a major swimmer for over 40 years and her body has seen some minor injuries along the way but nothing that had totally taken her out of the game. Not even a hail storm could have kept her out of the pool-lol.
Brenda had to put her holistic remedies to the side and started taking Cipro, an antibiotic for a bladder infection that she could not get rid of naturally. The following day she went about her usual workout routine with a swim until her shoulder, for some strange reason, began to throb forcing her to make the decision to just stop and get out of the pool. She made an attempt to swim again the following day and BAM, a searing pain happened within the first few strokes. She had no idea why that had happened. Brenda could not even pull her arm through the water.
The next few weeks were dedicated to acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, her voodoo miracle man (we all need one of these) physical therapist, rest, ice, essential oils, ART treatment, and anything to help herself. Brenda strongly believes in all these modalities and while they are all out of pocket expenses, she has a great team of practitioners that support her well-being. Sadly, the pain was not letting up.
She decided to do a deep dive into why this was happening and what maybe had been different as far as activity, nutrition, metaphysical connection, sleep position, etc. After reliving her entire day to day routine, the only new thing she could come up with was that she had taken Cipro, which she googled and found so much negative information about it all over the internet— “ Black Box WARNING” tendon tears, strains, and sprains amongst other horrible things.
The pain grew more unbearable to the point where she could not move her arm, so Brenda had went to the orthopedic specialist. They talked about some non-invasive options and he ordered imaging. He also told her that she probably diagnosed herself about Cipro as it happens a lot. Two days later the MRI was received and those non-invasive options were no longer on the table. Brenda had a complete rotator cuff tear (torn totally off the bone) and her only option, in the doctor’s opinion, was surgery. He confirmed that taking the Cipro was the cause of this happening. How could this be? A 2nd opinion then confirmed the same thing.
Brenda is a small business owner of two companies based in San Diego, California and not only will she have to take off work for an extended period of time just from having surgery to recover, she won’t be able to perform her work for an extended period of time. She is a jewelry designer/artist and a fitness professional. Being self-employed is great (over 20 years) but it does not come with paid sick days, disability options nor paid vacation. Although she does have health insurance and it is extremely helpful, there are still many co-pays for doctors, physical therapy, co-insurance for surgery, non- covered treatments in the healing process, Uber rides, a recliner bed rental, special clothing for shirts, and that big deductible. The hospital bills just have started to roll in at over $100K already! Insurance will cover a lot but not enough.
Brenda’s full recovery time is estimated to be 9-12 months in length. She prays and plans to be back working with clients within a reasonable amount of time, however, she will not be able to design jewelry for many months for the stores that carry her line of jewelry for her customers during the busiest times of the year, the holiday season. Brenda is the sole owner and operator of both her businesses.
Funds donated will be used to help cover some of these many costs. For now, she can’t drive for a minimum of 6 weeks or start physical therapy but when she does, physical therapy will be 3 times a week for the first 4 months (new deductible for 2020 -yay:) ) and soon will be down to 2 times a week for a couple months, eventually leading to 1 time a week. Physical therapy has a large co-pay each time and she will also run out of visits allowed for the year in 2020 long before her treatment is done.
Brenda is strong, brave, positive, fit, and will get through this and back! All the things in life that she loves will be awaiting her return. Her friends and family are all hopeful that better days are soon ahead. She is accepting of this new journey as a challenge and a gift. She will fight on!
Thank you all for your consideration, support and for your prayers.
Jamie
Organizer and beneficiary
JAMIE KORN
Organizer
Encinitas, CA
Brenda Rubin Mcdermott
Beneficiary