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Hello friends, family and all who may come across this page. Welcome, I’m happy & grateful to have you here.
“Make your mess your message” and this is my story, but I’m also believing it’s only a chapter in my book. I haven’t shared much with anyone because I haven’t wanted to personally accept this. But avoiding it hasn’t made any of this go away, it’s only made the process more difficult. I’m accepting I have a disability (while I hope temporary, maybe forever and am working on accepting that too).
Long story short: I injured myself back on 5-11-21 and the hospital initially thought it was a tiny fracture. I had to wait a week to be seen by the only ankle orthopedic doctor in town, it was determined I sprained my ankle. I was told to be in a boot for a few weeks and to begin with physical therapy. If this wasn’t in the middle of Covid I wouldn’t have hesitated to go to Seattle for a second opinion/treatment but I decided to stay put and go with the dr here at home in Yakima. After a few weeks of PT, I returned to the Dr and kept pressing that something was not right, that it wasn’t just an ankle sprain. Finally an MRI was ordered and once results were read (3 months after injury) I still had a partially torn ligament and small bone bruise. One month later, I had surgery on 9-23-21. The surgeon came out and told my support person in the lobby “it was worse than I was expecting” and it’s only gotten worse since then. My small bone bruise has developed into Avascular Necrosis (lack of blood flow to the bone) resulting in arthritis. After seeing three different doctors in the Seattle area, being instructed to rest as much as possible, being on crutches and a knee scooter, being prescribed a bone stimulator (not covered by insurance) and now being given what feels like a real option— a hybrid prosthetic called an Exosym. I was finally able to walk without pain for the first time in nearly two years. I couldn’t believe it… But this is why I’m reaching out to you, I need your help to access this device. I was quoted $4081.86 for the Exosym and I need to have half of that down by my appointment next week or I have to further push back accessing this relief. If you’re able to give any amount, it would be greatly appreciated. And if you’re a person of faith, please say a prayer for me that this is the medical intervention that restores my body and that I’m able to meet this need. I thank you all for your love and support as I begin to open up about my journey to healing.
If you want the in-depth story from beginning to end, here it is:
I severely sprained my ankle back on May 11, 2021 when I was out with my pup and a friend. I was being a good dog owner and “cleaning up” after my puppy. Rather than walking my dog around the retaining wall I figured I could quickly climb over the wall to get to the trash. A 30 second shortcut has cost me so much… I had so much regret, I have told myself a million times “I should have just walked around that wall” with the help of my amazing therapist I’ve come to accept that had I “walked around that wall” I still may have hurt myself and I would have told myself “I should have climbed over that wall”. Due to Covid I decided it would be best and the most responsible thing to stay in Yakima for treatment rather than seek out medical care in the Seattle area. And I also I wanted to have faith that Yakima didn’t have the poor medical care everyone always talks negatively about but the horrible reality of medical system being for profit & being in a rural-like community there is only one ankle orthopedic doctor. I was brushed over, I wasn’t listened to when I expressed something was wrong, I was made to feel I didn’t know what I was talking about when listening to my body and that “it wasn’t that bad”. After repeat visits, many physical therapy appointments (2x a week for 4 weeks) and months passing from the initial injury, Dr’s PA requested an MRI in July, the MRI was done in early August and appointment to go over the results wasn’t until late August. The MRI revealed I had a partially torn ligament explaining the reason for prolonged ankle instability, they also found a SMALL bone bruise. Surgery was scheduled for 9-23-21 to repair the ligament.
Surgery day comes and I’m hopeful this will be the real beginning to healing in addition the the 6 weeks of physical therapy I was going to have to go through after once approved. I planned for this the best I could, I budgeted to the best of my ability for surgery and 6 weeks of PT. When the physician came out of my surgery, he found my support person in the waiting room to update them and he himself said “it was worse than I was expecting.” That is not what you want to hear AFTER this person just operated on you. After a year of me continuing to say something is not right, we finally did an updated MRI in Yakima, the results were bad, very bad. It was discovered that my small bone bruise had worsened after surgery, I had lost blood flow to the bone and developed Avascular Necrosis. I now have arthritis in the Talus bone. I’ve been asked if I’m an alcoholic, cancer survivor, steroid user and none of those apply to me; further indicating arthritis of that one specific bone was likely caused by my injury or my care. I now have the ankle of a 60 year person. After my original surgeon went over the MRI results months after surgery (May 2022) he told me to go get a second opinion and when I asked “okay, I will. But what are WE going to do next?” He responded with “we’ll talk about it at a later date but for now go get a second opinion” that was the last time I spoke to him as called once a week for four weeks straight and never got a call back from his assistants or the clinic. My original surgeon, for a lack of a better term, ghosted me.
Almost a year has passed since my last visit with the original surgeon, who I am no longer seeing for obvious reasons, and I am still dealing with this. When I planned for surgery and about 6 weeks of follow ups back in 2021, I honestly couldn’t truly afford it, decisions such as either pay for PT or pay for gas to get to work came up a lot for me so much of my care was charged on credit but I told myself “I need this and I’ll pay it back when I’m on my feet again here shortly!” I did not plan for months AND months more of PT, many more Dr consultations in the Seattle area, the cost of driving back and forth to those appointments, lodging expenses for those appointments, multiple more MRI’s, and experimental medical intervention like the bone stimulator I’ve been prescribed that was not covered by insurance and now, the Exosym device that is a custom made hybrid prosthetic the orthopedic Dr. At UW medicine referred me for. And while I have tried to ignore the mounting stress of all of this… mentally, physically and financially I am struggling.
If there are any funds available after my medical care, I would like to seek legal counsel. Imagine yourself injured, the medical personnel who was responsible for your care is now no longer willing take your calls, instead washing their hands of you… my main reason for seeking legal assistance is to prevent anyone else from going through the experience I did.
Here’s where the Exosym comes into the story. This prosthetic was originally designed specifically for wounded veterans as their last hope of a normal life or returning to active duty, often times before amputation. While I am no where near that and would never compare my journey to that of a wounded warrior, this device is now being used for civilians to give them the same hope of a new lease on life.
I was seen in Gig Harbor, WA on 2/9/23 for casting and on 2/10/23 for the fitting of the prototype… I was able to walk without pain for the first time in almost 2 years. Not only that, I SPEED walked, up a small INCLINE!! That I couldn’t believe it, I cried in disbelief. I felt like something was missing— the pain I’ve become to used to. I felt like me again.
There is only one person in the world that makes the ExoSym, Ryan Blanck in Gig Harbor. People travel from all over to come to his clinic, and now I know why, I’m thankful it’s only a few hours away. But now I have to find a way to pay for the care I need.
This device is giving people the opportunity of a normal life again and I want a chance at that. There are so many things I hope to do again! I want to take my rescue dog Agnes on hikes to see the most beautiful places in the years she has left, I want to go out bowling with the women’s group at church without crying the next day from how much pain my ankle is in, I want to simply take a walk when I’m stressed to help pull me out of my depression.
The funds would be used for the following:
Asking for help is vulnerable and humbling. With a lot of help from my therapist I’ve come to the acceptance that people are good, they care, but they can’t help if I haven’t made it known how I need help. Thank you to each and every one of you, for all you‘re able to do and for listening to my story now that I’m ready to share it.
“Make your mess your message” and this is my story, but I’m also believing it’s only a chapter in my book. I haven’t shared much with anyone because I haven’t wanted to personally accept this. But avoiding it hasn’t made any of this go away, it’s only made the process more difficult. I’m accepting I have a disability (while I hope temporary, maybe forever and am working on accepting that too).
Long story short: I injured myself back on 5-11-21 and the hospital initially thought it was a tiny fracture. I had to wait a week to be seen by the only ankle orthopedic doctor in town, it was determined I sprained my ankle. I was told to be in a boot for a few weeks and to begin with physical therapy. If this wasn’t in the middle of Covid I wouldn’t have hesitated to go to Seattle for a second opinion/treatment but I decided to stay put and go with the dr here at home in Yakima. After a few weeks of PT, I returned to the Dr and kept pressing that something was not right, that it wasn’t just an ankle sprain. Finally an MRI was ordered and once results were read (3 months after injury) I still had a partially torn ligament and small bone bruise. One month later, I had surgery on 9-23-21. The surgeon came out and told my support person in the lobby “it was worse than I was expecting” and it’s only gotten worse since then. My small bone bruise has developed into Avascular Necrosis (lack of blood flow to the bone) resulting in arthritis. After seeing three different doctors in the Seattle area, being instructed to rest as much as possible, being on crutches and a knee scooter, being prescribed a bone stimulator (not covered by insurance) and now being given what feels like a real option— a hybrid prosthetic called an Exosym. I was finally able to walk without pain for the first time in nearly two years. I couldn’t believe it… But this is why I’m reaching out to you, I need your help to access this device. I was quoted $4081.86 for the Exosym and I need to have half of that down by my appointment next week or I have to further push back accessing this relief. If you’re able to give any amount, it would be greatly appreciated. And if you’re a person of faith, please say a prayer for me that this is the medical intervention that restores my body and that I’m able to meet this need. I thank you all for your love and support as I begin to open up about my journey to healing.
If you want the in-depth story from beginning to end, here it is:
I severely sprained my ankle back on May 11, 2021 when I was out with my pup and a friend. I was being a good dog owner and “cleaning up” after my puppy. Rather than walking my dog around the retaining wall I figured I could quickly climb over the wall to get to the trash. A 30 second shortcut has cost me so much… I had so much regret, I have told myself a million times “I should have just walked around that wall” with the help of my amazing therapist I’ve come to accept that had I “walked around that wall” I still may have hurt myself and I would have told myself “I should have climbed over that wall”. Due to Covid I decided it would be best and the most responsible thing to stay in Yakima for treatment rather than seek out medical care in the Seattle area. And I also I wanted to have faith that Yakima didn’t have the poor medical care everyone always talks negatively about but the horrible reality of medical system being for profit & being in a rural-like community there is only one ankle orthopedic doctor. I was brushed over, I wasn’t listened to when I expressed something was wrong, I was made to feel I didn’t know what I was talking about when listening to my body and that “it wasn’t that bad”. After repeat visits, many physical therapy appointments (2x a week for 4 weeks) and months passing from the initial injury, Dr’s PA requested an MRI in July, the MRI was done in early August and appointment to go over the results wasn’t until late August. The MRI revealed I had a partially torn ligament explaining the reason for prolonged ankle instability, they also found a SMALL bone bruise. Surgery was scheduled for 9-23-21 to repair the ligament.
Surgery day comes and I’m hopeful this will be the real beginning to healing in addition the the 6 weeks of physical therapy I was going to have to go through after once approved. I planned for this the best I could, I budgeted to the best of my ability for surgery and 6 weeks of PT. When the physician came out of my surgery, he found my support person in the waiting room to update them and he himself said “it was worse than I was expecting.” That is not what you want to hear AFTER this person just operated on you. After a year of me continuing to say something is not right, we finally did an updated MRI in Yakima, the results were bad, very bad. It was discovered that my small bone bruise had worsened after surgery, I had lost blood flow to the bone and developed Avascular Necrosis. I now have arthritis in the Talus bone. I’ve been asked if I’m an alcoholic, cancer survivor, steroid user and none of those apply to me; further indicating arthritis of that one specific bone was likely caused by my injury or my care. I now have the ankle of a 60 year person. After my original surgeon went over the MRI results months after surgery (May 2022) he told me to go get a second opinion and when I asked “okay, I will. But what are WE going to do next?” He responded with “we’ll talk about it at a later date but for now go get a second opinion” that was the last time I spoke to him as called once a week for four weeks straight and never got a call back from his assistants or the clinic. My original surgeon, for a lack of a better term, ghosted me.
Almost a year has passed since my last visit with the original surgeon, who I am no longer seeing for obvious reasons, and I am still dealing with this. When I planned for surgery and about 6 weeks of follow ups back in 2021, I honestly couldn’t truly afford it, decisions such as either pay for PT or pay for gas to get to work came up a lot for me so much of my care was charged on credit but I told myself “I need this and I’ll pay it back when I’m on my feet again here shortly!” I did not plan for months AND months more of PT, many more Dr consultations in the Seattle area, the cost of driving back and forth to those appointments, lodging expenses for those appointments, multiple more MRI’s, and experimental medical intervention like the bone stimulator I’ve been prescribed that was not covered by insurance and now, the Exosym device that is a custom made hybrid prosthetic the orthopedic Dr. At UW medicine referred me for. And while I have tried to ignore the mounting stress of all of this… mentally, physically and financially I am struggling.
If there are any funds available after my medical care, I would like to seek legal counsel. Imagine yourself injured, the medical personnel who was responsible for your care is now no longer willing take your calls, instead washing their hands of you… my main reason for seeking legal assistance is to prevent anyone else from going through the experience I did.
Here’s where the Exosym comes into the story. This prosthetic was originally designed specifically for wounded veterans as their last hope of a normal life or returning to active duty, often times before amputation. While I am no where near that and would never compare my journey to that of a wounded warrior, this device is now being used for civilians to give them the same hope of a new lease on life.
I was seen in Gig Harbor, WA on 2/9/23 for casting and on 2/10/23 for the fitting of the prototype… I was able to walk without pain for the first time in almost 2 years. Not only that, I SPEED walked, up a small INCLINE!! That I couldn’t believe it, I cried in disbelief. I felt like something was missing— the pain I’ve become to used to. I felt like me again.
There is only one person in the world that makes the ExoSym, Ryan Blanck in Gig Harbor. People travel from all over to come to his clinic, and now I know why, I’m thankful it’s only a few hours away. But now I have to find a way to pay for the care I need.
This device is giving people the opportunity of a normal life again and I want a chance at that. There are so many things I hope to do again! I want to take my rescue dog Agnes on hikes to see the most beautiful places in the years she has left, I want to go out bowling with the women’s group at church without crying the next day from how much pain my ankle is in, I want to simply take a walk when I’m stressed to help pull me out of my depression.
The funds would be used for the following:
- $4,081.00 is my out of pocket cost for the Exosym prosthetic and I need to have half down before my next appointment
- $300 owed for the rental of my knee scooter before I was able to be donated one
- $100 carried over balance from physical therapy
- $668 left to pay on bone stimulator
- $500 for logging for visits that I will have to charge for now -All other funds will be used for miscellaneous use of copays, gas for travel to visits and legal fees if needed
Asking for help is vulnerable and humbling. With a lot of help from my therapist I’ve come to the acceptance that people are good, they care, but they can’t help if I haven’t made it known how I need help. Thank you to each and every one of you, for all you‘re able to do and for listening to my story now that I’m ready to share it.