Help Cody Stovall and his family
Donation protected
**KEEP CLICKING READ MORE TO READ ALL OF CODY'S MEDICAL JOURNEY
***WARNING!!! At the end of Cody's story there is a gory picture of Cody's leg. If you would prefer to not see blood and his leg open you should NOT go past the end of his medical story.**
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I am Cody's favorite little sister. He is and has always been a happily married man, to an Oklahoma born and breed strong woman he would walk through fire for. Clocking in with 4 completely kick awesome kid’s who have all unfortunately also fallen on rough times recently. After exhausting all State, Government & DHS type programs, (waiting to hear from LEAP however, was told they were COVID induced “back logged”) and he and his family just don’t know where to turn now.
THE BAD
My brother, Cody, went into see his Dr. on Sept 14th for what was thought to be sciatic nerve pain which he had been self treating with ice packs, stretching, chiropractic care, massages etc. Because he assumed it was just some old wear and tear on his muscles and back. Sept 17, his pain was so severe he was forced to leave work early. By Sept 19th his pain was beyond intolerable. We immediately scheduled him an appointment with our Primary Care Physician (PCP). Upon arrival the on call doctor removed his sock and his foot was ice cold and had absolutely no pulse up until past is knee and sent him immediately to the emergency room where they performed sonar testing and found absolutely no pulse below the knee. He was instantly informed that the Dr. now had an ethical obligation to immediately save his leg from amputation. He was then rushed by Ambulance to a much larger hospital with a comprehensive vascular & neurological team. Within hours he was having emergency surgery in an attempt to remove 5 arterial blood clots from his left leg. Subsequently, his condition deteriorated rapidly which caused the development of compartment syndrome, which required a massive surgery known as a Fasciotomy, go ahead, look it up.... if you have the stomach for it. As insanely scary as that is by itself Cody’s incision on his exterior calf was over 26 centimeters long and almost 13 centimeters wide. His interior calf & ankle was cut an additional 16 centimeters long and 7 centimeters wide with an open arterial hole in his ankle. After an extreme utterly exorbitant amount of Physiological & neurological tests that had ANYTHING to do with common blood clot disorders to find some answers as to why or even HOW an extremely healthy 33yr old, former collegiate athlete who proudly served our country and was consistently maintaining an athletic shape & build (6’4 200lb running almost daily) would suddenly begin to develop blood clots. They also haven’t been able to identify why his blood is magically, naturally thicker than over 95% of the world’s tested population. After several weeks in the hospital he was released under supervision. After being home for 3 days more massive complications arose and suddenly he was back in the hospital for an additional 4 nights culminating with yet another extremely painful invasive operation. There are SO MANY additional minor complications and exhaustingly difficult details during that time frame that is hard to go over or even talk about for them. BUT to try to quickly fast forward the last 7 months of In Home Health nurses in and out regularly to help his wife assist him daily, hourly, with normal mundane chores & tasks that we often forget are even tasks at all. Eating, sleeping, moving, getting out of bed, urinating, bathing, being able to bend over just enough to even reach the tip of his socks to ATTEMPT to take them off, or even more intense... putting them on. Finally he was most recently released from an additional 8 day stay in the lovely COVID filled Hospital yesterday. On February 17 our PCP ordered an additional ultrasound & MRI stat and surprise surprise after the night before one ER Dr. told him he was absolutely fine and had exactly ZERO blood clots, leaving my brother Cody to feel completely befuddled and although he was in severe pain and the ER telling him to essentially man up and stop simply looking for additional pain medication and unwarranted sympathy. He begrudgingly, luckily kept his word and still attended the additional off site clinic MRI/Ultrasound scheduled by his PCP AND they actually very easily and quickly found SEVERAL more blood clots; in different branches of his femoral artery. Immediately an Operation was scheduled for Wednesday Feb 18. He was in good spirits for about an hour after returning to his room from this new 1st surgery, then in Mid conversation, out of nowhere, set in an agonizing 15 hours of pain they could not control nor explain. After discovering his Femoral Artery had been accidentally cut open during the second procedure he was sent back into emergency surgery because it was very apparent that this operation wasn’t progressing as hoped. They entered back into his artery (via the sheath/catheter) and elected to put in two stints in his hamstring area. After finishing this surgery it was now time to immediately close his femoral artery, you know because it’s like..... arguably the MOST IMPORTANT Artery in your body. They tried a tradition procedure which failed twice. They then went to literally manual pressure for 2 hours, unsedated, in what he was thankfully later alive to describe as a level 12+++ pain. Yes, I said manual pressure! Which means my sister n law had to watch several Dr’s and nurses literally taking turns shoving their hands deep inside of his pelvis to clamp off the bleeding while he is 100% awake and screaming in agony from his recovery room to all the way down the hallway to the OR to sew up his artery and stop the internal bleeding. She not only visibly watched this horror, she was then told they may have a tremendous amount of trouble closing that artery! Can you imagine. After 5 more additional days, he was finally released. There is very little he can do on his own right now which is very difficult for this high speed man. And I know he is constantly preaching positivity and finding things to always be grateful for. Deep down. I know he is internally & externally very tore up.
THE GOOD
He is alive
He kept his foot/leg again against all odds
He knows what to avoid and what medications to take now
He will be able to use the next 18 - 29 months (until hopefully, possibly getting released to work) to capitalize on his recent acceptance into a broadcasting bachelor’s degree program.
His kids still have him
He can still get around.....with adult assistance
He had the best vascular Doctor, team, nurses and overall mostly wonderful treatment during his lengthy hospital stays
He has a story to tell about perseverance
So so much more!
THE UGLY
He does not qualify for worker’s compensation or unemployment because well, he physically can’t work let alone move. However he does have a pending disability claim, his hearing was today. We were given a timeline of 3-9 months before his case would be reviewed and possibly approved. Unfortunately his wife was terminated from her job in order to further help him, She had that for over a year and a half and was untimely terminated on December 2nd. Yes, great Christmas timing right!
They are now at a point where they have ran through all savings (they also are unfortunately one of those that have not yet received their stimulus somehow). They have received cutoff notices for both gas and electric on numerous occasions. Pretty sure even the trash service has been discontinued and I don’t know what on earth they would do without food benefits. His wife is now actively seeking a job, because they have exhausted all other self sufficient means to get by. But obviously it’s extremely trying given the necessary responsibilities that come with his current situation. I know they have called 211 (I believe it’s another service to help people in need) but would be so very grateful for ANY assistance Or advice you or anyone you know can offer. I know my sister n law will get a job soon enough, she does have a bachelors degree already. I just need help for my brother and his family during this very exhausting, depleting and trying time.
Thank you,
Kala Stovall
***WARNING!!! At the end of Cody's story there is a gory picture of Cody's leg. If you would prefer to not see blood and his leg open you should NOT go past the end of his medical story.**
____________________________________________________
I am Cody's favorite little sister. He is and has always been a happily married man, to an Oklahoma born and breed strong woman he would walk through fire for. Clocking in with 4 completely kick awesome kid’s who have all unfortunately also fallen on rough times recently. After exhausting all State, Government & DHS type programs, (waiting to hear from LEAP however, was told they were COVID induced “back logged”) and he and his family just don’t know where to turn now.
THE BAD
My brother, Cody, went into see his Dr. on Sept 14th for what was thought to be sciatic nerve pain which he had been self treating with ice packs, stretching, chiropractic care, massages etc. Because he assumed it was just some old wear and tear on his muscles and back. Sept 17, his pain was so severe he was forced to leave work early. By Sept 19th his pain was beyond intolerable. We immediately scheduled him an appointment with our Primary Care Physician (PCP). Upon arrival the on call doctor removed his sock and his foot was ice cold and had absolutely no pulse up until past is knee and sent him immediately to the emergency room where they performed sonar testing and found absolutely no pulse below the knee. He was instantly informed that the Dr. now had an ethical obligation to immediately save his leg from amputation. He was then rushed by Ambulance to a much larger hospital with a comprehensive vascular & neurological team. Within hours he was having emergency surgery in an attempt to remove 5 arterial blood clots from his left leg. Subsequently, his condition deteriorated rapidly which caused the development of compartment syndrome, which required a massive surgery known as a Fasciotomy, go ahead, look it up.... if you have the stomach for it. As insanely scary as that is by itself Cody’s incision on his exterior calf was over 26 centimeters long and almost 13 centimeters wide. His interior calf & ankle was cut an additional 16 centimeters long and 7 centimeters wide with an open arterial hole in his ankle. After an extreme utterly exorbitant amount of Physiological & neurological tests that had ANYTHING to do with common blood clot disorders to find some answers as to why or even HOW an extremely healthy 33yr old, former collegiate athlete who proudly served our country and was consistently maintaining an athletic shape & build (6’4 200lb running almost daily) would suddenly begin to develop blood clots. They also haven’t been able to identify why his blood is magically, naturally thicker than over 95% of the world’s tested population. After several weeks in the hospital he was released under supervision. After being home for 3 days more massive complications arose and suddenly he was back in the hospital for an additional 4 nights culminating with yet another extremely painful invasive operation. There are SO MANY additional minor complications and exhaustingly difficult details during that time frame that is hard to go over or even talk about for them. BUT to try to quickly fast forward the last 7 months of In Home Health nurses in and out regularly to help his wife assist him daily, hourly, with normal mundane chores & tasks that we often forget are even tasks at all. Eating, sleeping, moving, getting out of bed, urinating, bathing, being able to bend over just enough to even reach the tip of his socks to ATTEMPT to take them off, or even more intense... putting them on. Finally he was most recently released from an additional 8 day stay in the lovely COVID filled Hospital yesterday. On February 17 our PCP ordered an additional ultrasound & MRI stat and surprise surprise after the night before one ER Dr. told him he was absolutely fine and had exactly ZERO blood clots, leaving my brother Cody to feel completely befuddled and although he was in severe pain and the ER telling him to essentially man up and stop simply looking for additional pain medication and unwarranted sympathy. He begrudgingly, luckily kept his word and still attended the additional off site clinic MRI/Ultrasound scheduled by his PCP AND they actually very easily and quickly found SEVERAL more blood clots; in different branches of his femoral artery. Immediately an Operation was scheduled for Wednesday Feb 18. He was in good spirits for about an hour after returning to his room from this new 1st surgery, then in Mid conversation, out of nowhere, set in an agonizing 15 hours of pain they could not control nor explain. After discovering his Femoral Artery had been accidentally cut open during the second procedure he was sent back into emergency surgery because it was very apparent that this operation wasn’t progressing as hoped. They entered back into his artery (via the sheath/catheter) and elected to put in two stints in his hamstring area. After finishing this surgery it was now time to immediately close his femoral artery, you know because it’s like..... arguably the MOST IMPORTANT Artery in your body. They tried a tradition procedure which failed twice. They then went to literally manual pressure for 2 hours, unsedated, in what he was thankfully later alive to describe as a level 12+++ pain. Yes, I said manual pressure! Which means my sister n law had to watch several Dr’s and nurses literally taking turns shoving their hands deep inside of his pelvis to clamp off the bleeding while he is 100% awake and screaming in agony from his recovery room to all the way down the hallway to the OR to sew up his artery and stop the internal bleeding. She not only visibly watched this horror, she was then told they may have a tremendous amount of trouble closing that artery! Can you imagine. After 5 more additional days, he was finally released. There is very little he can do on his own right now which is very difficult for this high speed man. And I know he is constantly preaching positivity and finding things to always be grateful for. Deep down. I know he is internally & externally very tore up.
THE GOOD
He is alive
He kept his foot/leg again against all odds
He knows what to avoid and what medications to take now
He will be able to use the next 18 - 29 months (until hopefully, possibly getting released to work) to capitalize on his recent acceptance into a broadcasting bachelor’s degree program.
His kids still have him
He can still get around.....with adult assistance
He had the best vascular Doctor, team, nurses and overall mostly wonderful treatment during his lengthy hospital stays
He has a story to tell about perseverance
So so much more!
THE UGLY
He does not qualify for worker’s compensation or unemployment because well, he physically can’t work let alone move. However he does have a pending disability claim, his hearing was today. We were given a timeline of 3-9 months before his case would be reviewed and possibly approved. Unfortunately his wife was terminated from her job in order to further help him, She had that for over a year and a half and was untimely terminated on December 2nd. Yes, great Christmas timing right!
They are now at a point where they have ran through all savings (they also are unfortunately one of those that have not yet received their stimulus somehow). They have received cutoff notices for both gas and electric on numerous occasions. Pretty sure even the trash service has been discontinued and I don’t know what on earth they would do without food benefits. His wife is now actively seeking a job, because they have exhausted all other self sufficient means to get by. But obviously it’s extremely trying given the necessary responsibilities that come with his current situation. I know they have called 211 (I believe it’s another service to help people in need) but would be so very grateful for ANY assistance Or advice you or anyone you know can offer. I know my sister n law will get a job soon enough, she does have a bachelors degree already. I just need help for my brother and his family during this very exhausting, depleting and trying time.
Thank you,
Kala Stovall
___________________**WARNING**__________________
_____________**GORY IMAGE BELOW**______________
__________**DO NOT GO ANY FUTHER**___________
Co-organizers (2)
Kala Stovall
Organizer
Colorado Springs, CO
Cody Stovall
Beneficiary
Kasandra Stovall
Co-organizer