Help Luanne get back on her feet!

Luanne is a lifelong resident of Burford, Ontario and has been active in both the community and the Holy Trinity Church for many years. A few years ago, Luanne was diagnosed with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries slowed blood flow to Luanne's legs. Reduced circulation in the legs causes great pain and discomfort, and makes healing a very slow, uncertain task.

On Boxing Day 2018, Luanne travelled to Hamilton General Hospital to undergo a surgical procedure known as "aortobifemoral bypass" to restore circulation to her legs. Luanne's surgeon, Dr. Jacques Tittley, used synthetic blood vessels to bypass her femoral arteries and redirect blood to her lower extremities. The initial surgery successfully restored circulation to Luanne's right leg, but a second bypass was needed to fix her left leg. While recovering from the second surgery, Luanne contracted a rare, antibiotic-resistant superbug infection in her left leg. After several days of fighting back the infection with high-powered antibiotics, doctors made the difficult decision that Luanne's best chance of beating the infection was to remove her leg above the knee. Their intervention was successful. While Luanne has adapted quickly to life in a wheelchair, she greatly misses the independence of walking and driving on her own.

The team at Hamilton General identified Luanne as an ideal candidate for the newest generation of power-assisted "smart" prostheses, which will allow Luanne to walk up stairs, walk backwards, overcome obstacles on the floor, and stand up comfortably - all things which were difficult or impossible to do with older models of artificial limbs.

The cost of building a customized, state-of-the-art prosthetic leg - and the physiotherapy needed to learn how to use it - is unfortunately incredibly high. While some of the costs are covered by insurance and other sources, the remaining balance is insurmountable without your support. Luanne would never ask for this kind of help on her own, so we are here today to ask on her behalf.

Many people have reached out over the last year to ask how they can help Luanne out. Today, we invite Luanne's friends and supporters to make a donation towards a new prosthetic leg that will get Luanne back on her own two feet again!

Thank you very much for your life-changing support.