Help Kelly Recover and Continue to Rebuild Her Life

Please help out my sister Kelly. She has had such a run of bad luck. Despite it all, she keeps smiling and putting one foot in front of the other.

In 2016, Kelly decided to go back to school to get her nursing assistant degree. She had barely been working a year when she ended up having a hip replacement. During that time, they sutured her sciatic nerve into the repair. What was supposed to be helping, just hurt her more.

When she finally was able to start getting on her feet, her long-term boyfriend and love of her life, Chuck Perry, started to decline. Chuck spent years in and out of the hospital. During the last two years of his life, Kelly was unable to work as she was his full-time caretaker. She did receive money for taking care of Chuck, but it was not enough to support the family well. They often had to gather water from the local stream as they didn't have running water in the place they were living, which they could barely afford anyways.

When Chuck passed, Kelly was heartbroken and left with nothing. She had no place to live, no notable work history to be able to get a job, no savings. Despite it all, Kelly kept hope and with her stubborn and relentless attitude, she was able to land two jobs. She was often working 12 or more hour days, and she rarely had a day off between the two jobs. It finally seemed like there was a light at the end of the tunnel and that she would be able to get herself back on track.

June 11th this year, 10 months into her newfound independence and stability, she went out to walk the dogs. They saw something and started to take off. She dropped the leashes but not before she took a tumble. The wound, on the same leg as her hip surgery, looked like she took a machete to the knee. During the trip to the emergency room, they gave her stitches but only superficially. Within 10 days, the wound was infected. She had to go back to the hospital, where they opened up the wound, cleaned out all the infection, took muscle from her calf, and inserted a drain. She stayed for a week.

This last Friday, July 26th, Kelly had her next surgery. They removed the artificial skin they had placed over the wound, and took a skin graft from her thigh to replace over it.

She has not been able to work, or drive, for almost 2 months. We are not sure how much longer she will be out of work. My mom and I have tag teamed buying groceries and helping her with doctor's appointments etc but it is not sustainable. She is now 2 months behind in rent ($1,600/mo) and the hospital bill alone, before this most recent surgery, is about $6,500.

Any amount at all would be of great assistance to her. If you know Kelly, she would give someone the shirt off of her back. Please help us get my sister back on her feet!

Beware... The following photos are graphic but show the severity of her injury.

Initial wound

Wound repaired by emergency room, infected and heading into surgery

Wound after 1st surgery.