Help Ananda (Carrol) with urgent Medical Surgery
Donation protected
My journey to a prosthetic leg:
After my serious knee dislocation and fall which resulted in a broken leg, I remember that I laid on the cold floor from 8:00 am til 9:00 pm until arrangements were made to get an ambulance. Lima Peru has the worst drivers in the world. That's an understatement! One driver cut off the ambulance, the ambulance slammed on its breaks, two EMTs, and my companion helper (Alison) went flying forward. Fortunately, no one landed on my broken leg, but my other leg was slightly injured. For a moment my attention diverted over to my other leg, but quickly returned to the major pain in my broken leg and dislocated knee. The ambulance drove me up to a public hospital where long lines of people had to stand outside in the cold, waiting to see a Doctor. Some people were wrapped in blankets and some were standing there with IV poles to push around while their veins were pierced with tubes. It felt like a war zone.
I got into the X-ray department relatively quickly because I arrived in an Ambulance. (Thank God). The Ambulance was a free service from the Volunteer Fire Department. Unheard of in the US. It was so traumatic being in a third-world country, going through an emergency, and not knowing the language. Fortunately for me, I had Alison with me who translated, but she couldn't work fast enough to keep me informed of all the decisions that were being made about my body. The medical staff was clumsy, rude, and inconsiderate. In America, emergency room professionals, not only spoke English but were highly trained in their field. I suddenly became homesick.
The next few days were spent trying to make arrangements to attempt to fly me back to my Surgeon, Dr. Shah in Eugene Oregon to have the metal knee replacement removed. I was in no shape to fly. I had a temporary cast on to stabilize the leg. There were no airports that had wheelchairs with an extended leg attachment, and I would have to have an 18-hour layover. I had no help with me and couldn't even imagine using the bathroom, let alone staying in an airport overnight with no way to support my leg in a cast while dealing with severe pain. There were several people working on helping me put together the details. I'm so grateful to them. Along the way many miracles appeared. The American Embassy needed to have a written letter from the Doctor to validate an appointment. Dr. Shah's staff worked diligently to get me an emergency appointment. They did succeed in getting an appointment, but that department said they do not email or text appointment confirmations. They passed us off to the scheduling department and they miraculously had an email sent within minutes (after they too said they don't confirm appointments in writing).
The next miracle was when my daughter got Dr. Shah on the phone directly. My daughter was perfect for the job because she does medical advising in her career and works with medical professionals. ( Another thank-you). The consultation led to a decision to keep me where I was in Lima Peru, get the broken bone set, get a permanent cast, and be on bed rest for 3 or 4 months until I can travel. They wanted me to be where I was comfortable and had help. I'm served delicious vegan food every day, people here love me, the weather is mild, I have a private room with a garden view, and I'm able to continue doing my coaching work on zoom. There happens to be a nurse that lives next door who speaks English, and was the caretaker for her relatives who have all recently passed away, in other words, she happened to have plenty of time to help me. (Yet, another thank-you).
The next appointment was to a bone doctor who the nurse happened to know very well. In Peru, the custom here is if the Doctor knows people in your family, the Doctor will help you. The consultation with the bone doctor led to the results that the bone needed to have a plate and screws put in place for the bone to heal properly. The location of this process would interfere with the metal I already had in my leg. Knowing full well that the leg was going to get removed once back with Dr. Shah, we didn't do anything to fix the broken bone. I now have a pretty azure cast and a comfortable bed for a number of months. I'm not in any pain, so that makes it easy to be here and just wait. They don't call those people in the hospital "patience" for nothing.
Anyone who knows me understands that I am a master manifestor. My whole life work has been spent coaching people on how to believe (beyond a shadow of a doubt ) that we are responsible for what we create. So you may ask, " did I create this?" I'd say yes I did. I claim full responsibility. I'm not responsible for the fact that the mechanism in my knee replacement does not work. But I am responsible for how I deal with the constant dislocations, the fear of walking, the isolation that has come from not being able to be active. And now that this leg has performed its final and most severe dislocation ever, I am responsible for making the tough decision to have the metal apparatus permanently removed. Since this knee replacement goes from my thigh to my calf, once removed, there will be no leg left. I literally "won't have a leg to stand on" Therefore I now choose to live out the rest of my life with a prosthetic leg that will lead to a much better quality of life, in the long run.
Now the immediate drama is over, but this is just the beginning. I'm going to need your continuous help while I transition through the amputation that l have facing me in the near future. I need to pay for a nurse while here in Peru. I have expenses for supplies, and future doctor appointments. In Peru, you pay cash as you go if you don't have insurance. The decision to stay in Peru was the best as far as my comfort and safety go, but I'm concerned about paying as I go in medical expenses because I am not covered with Medicaid. There are no senior services here. There is no help coming from the American Embassy. For me? there is only you. My precious friends are circling around me in support. I'm so grateful for those who responded immediately. A million thanks I raised my first goal of $1,000.00. Butnow starts the long journey. Please help me meet my next goal of $5,000.00 which will be used to make decisions about what's next. I can't even imagine what's ahead of me. I can only know that no matter what happens, I'm supported by my beautiful friends.
I want to Thank the GoFundMe Customer Happiness team. They worked consistently to help me through technical problems I had with passwords until I was able to access my campaign. I would recommend GoFundMe to anyone. Your faith in humanity will blossom as mine has by being in a vulnerable situation where we have to ask for help, then graciously allow it. The Little Prince says " We don't live on our own planet".
After my serious knee dislocation and fall which resulted in a broken leg, I remember that I laid on the cold floor from 8:00 am til 9:00 pm until arrangements were made to get an ambulance. Lima Peru has the worst drivers in the world. That's an understatement! One driver cut off the ambulance, the ambulance slammed on its breaks, two EMTs, and my companion helper (Alison) went flying forward. Fortunately, no one landed on my broken leg, but my other leg was slightly injured. For a moment my attention diverted over to my other leg, but quickly returned to the major pain in my broken leg and dislocated knee. The ambulance drove me up to a public hospital where long lines of people had to stand outside in the cold, waiting to see a Doctor. Some people were wrapped in blankets and some were standing there with IV poles to push around while their veins were pierced with tubes. It felt like a war zone.
I got into the X-ray department relatively quickly because I arrived in an Ambulance. (Thank God). The Ambulance was a free service from the Volunteer Fire Department. Unheard of in the US. It was so traumatic being in a third-world country, going through an emergency, and not knowing the language. Fortunately for me, I had Alison with me who translated, but she couldn't work fast enough to keep me informed of all the decisions that were being made about my body. The medical staff was clumsy, rude, and inconsiderate. In America, emergency room professionals, not only spoke English but were highly trained in their field. I suddenly became homesick.
The next few days were spent trying to make arrangements to attempt to fly me back to my Surgeon, Dr. Shah in Eugene Oregon to have the metal knee replacement removed. I was in no shape to fly. I had a temporary cast on to stabilize the leg. There were no airports that had wheelchairs with an extended leg attachment, and I would have to have an 18-hour layover. I had no help with me and couldn't even imagine using the bathroom, let alone staying in an airport overnight with no way to support my leg in a cast while dealing with severe pain. There were several people working on helping me put together the details. I'm so grateful to them. Along the way many miracles appeared. The American Embassy needed to have a written letter from the Doctor to validate an appointment. Dr. Shah's staff worked diligently to get me an emergency appointment. They did succeed in getting an appointment, but that department said they do not email or text appointment confirmations. They passed us off to the scheduling department and they miraculously had an email sent within minutes (after they too said they don't confirm appointments in writing).
The next miracle was when my daughter got Dr. Shah on the phone directly. My daughter was perfect for the job because she does medical advising in her career and works with medical professionals. ( Another thank-you). The consultation led to a decision to keep me where I was in Lima Peru, get the broken bone set, get a permanent cast, and be on bed rest for 3 or 4 months until I can travel. They wanted me to be where I was comfortable and had help. I'm served delicious vegan food every day, people here love me, the weather is mild, I have a private room with a garden view, and I'm able to continue doing my coaching work on zoom. There happens to be a nurse that lives next door who speaks English, and was the caretaker for her relatives who have all recently passed away, in other words, she happened to have plenty of time to help me. (Yet, another thank-you).
The next appointment was to a bone doctor who the nurse happened to know very well. In Peru, the custom here is if the Doctor knows people in your family, the Doctor will help you. The consultation with the bone doctor led to the results that the bone needed to have a plate and screws put in place for the bone to heal properly. The location of this process would interfere with the metal I already had in my leg. Knowing full well that the leg was going to get removed once back with Dr. Shah, we didn't do anything to fix the broken bone. I now have a pretty azure cast and a comfortable bed for a number of months. I'm not in any pain, so that makes it easy to be here and just wait. They don't call those people in the hospital "patience" for nothing.
Anyone who knows me understands that I am a master manifestor. My whole life work has been spent coaching people on how to believe (beyond a shadow of a doubt ) that we are responsible for what we create. So you may ask, " did I create this?" I'd say yes I did. I claim full responsibility. I'm not responsible for the fact that the mechanism in my knee replacement does not work. But I am responsible for how I deal with the constant dislocations, the fear of walking, the isolation that has come from not being able to be active. And now that this leg has performed its final and most severe dislocation ever, I am responsible for making the tough decision to have the metal apparatus permanently removed. Since this knee replacement goes from my thigh to my calf, once removed, there will be no leg left. I literally "won't have a leg to stand on" Therefore I now choose to live out the rest of my life with a prosthetic leg that will lead to a much better quality of life, in the long run.
Now the immediate drama is over, but this is just the beginning. I'm going to need your continuous help while I transition through the amputation that l have facing me in the near future. I need to pay for a nurse while here in Peru. I have expenses for supplies, and future doctor appointments. In Peru, you pay cash as you go if you don't have insurance. The decision to stay in Peru was the best as far as my comfort and safety go, but I'm concerned about paying as I go in medical expenses because I am not covered with Medicaid. There are no senior services here. There is no help coming from the American Embassy. For me? there is only you. My precious friends are circling around me in support. I'm so grateful for those who responded immediately. A million thanks I raised my first goal of $1,000.00. Butnow starts the long journey. Please help me meet my next goal of $5,000.00 which will be used to make decisions about what's next. I can't even imagine what's ahead of me. I can only know that no matter what happens, I'm supported by my beautiful friends.
I want to Thank the GoFundMe Customer Happiness team. They worked consistently to help me through technical problems I had with passwords until I was able to access my campaign. I would recommend GoFundMe to anyone. Your faith in humanity will blossom as mine has by being in a vulnerable situation where we have to ask for help, then graciously allow it. The Little Prince says " We don't live on our own planet".
Organizer
Ananda Reeves
Organizer
Eugene, OR