Hi, my name is Vicki Havlik, and I am fundraising for Katrina.

On July 21, our dear friend Katrina MacGregor had a nasty fall and broke her leg and hand. After being seen in the Emergency Room at an out-of-town hospital where she was visiting to attend a dog event, they sent her home with a leg brace and instructions that she needed surgery on the leg, which was severely broken. They failed to help her obtain that surgery, released her from the hospital with a handful of pain pills, and did not even call her to see how she was doing the next day. Katrina could not walk and was so sick that she could not hold down water. Her good friends came to her rescue and helped drive Katrina, her two beloved dogs, and her van from Portland to north of Seattle, where she wanted them to help her get to Whidbey Island, where she lives. However, these friends knew that she desperately needed medical attention immediately. She was not taken home but drove Katrina to a hospital in Seattle instead, where she was found to be in kidney failure due to being unable to hold down water. They saved her life. . . literally! She was immediately admitted, and after almost a week of scary days spent trying to restart her kidneys, she received the good news that they started working again. As soon as they were up to speed, they would be able to perform her much-needed leg surgery. Her surgery was a great success, and her leg is now full of hardware that will make her leg as good as new!

However, Katrina's recovery does not end here. After recovering from the anesthesia and getting her pain under control, Katrina was moved to a rehab facility to receive some physical therapy and other treatment needed to help her move to the next stage of her recovery. Finally, many weeks after her fall, Katrina was in her home on Whidbey Island with her dogs by her side. This arrangement did not last more than a day or two, and Katrina fell in her own home trying to care for her dogs, barely able to walk even with a walker. Her dogs were taken to stay with good friends. Katrina has had all kinds of medical professionals visiting her house frequently to care for her, and nearby friends are also visiting to help her around the house. She does not think the doctors want her to walk much until later in October, when her leg will be healed enough. She will have been out of work for almost three months by then.

Katrina held down several jobs before her unfortunate accident and now must stay at home and work hard to recover her ability to walk and regain her strength without much income. Fortunately, Medicare covers most of her medical expenses, but her bills still need to be paid until she can return to work. Katrina loves her cozy little house on the island and needs to keep up her house payments so that she can keep it! We are asking all of her friends and acquaintances, and even if you are a stranger reading this, to please donate whatever you can so that Katrina can stay afloat while she learns to walk again with her "bionic" leg. Do not worry if you can't afford a lot. Even small amounts will help. Or maybe give some now, come back, and give a little more in a few weeks. When Katrina heard that we were starting this GoFundMe on her behalf, she was humbled and so very grateful. She thanks you from the bottom of her heart for your generosity in helping her in this challenging time of need so that she can keep her home and eventually be reunited with her beloved Cairn Terriers, Ian and Davina. Let's show Katrina how much we care and give her what we can to save her home! After all, as Dorothy says in the Wizard Of Oz, "There's no place like home!"