Please Save us from Foreclosure
Donation protected
In 1999, my mom had a tragic accident that has changed her life as well as the rest of our family, forever.
Halloween night of '99, my mom was at an at-the-time friend's house. As she was walking down this friend's stairs to her main level of her house, my mom slipped on a 3-ring binder left on this person's stairs, causing my mom to fall down the stairs and break her ankle. There was no railing or lighting.
Due to this trauma, she developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, also known as CRPS or RSD.
CRPS is rated as the most severe chronic pain illness on the McGill University Pain Index. The definition is CPRS is as follows:
"Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition most often affecting one of the limbs (arms, legs, hands, or feet), usually after an injury or trauma to that limb. CRPS is believed to be caused by damage to, or malfunction of, the peripheral and central nervous systems. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system involves nerve signaling from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. CRPS is characterized by prolonged or excessive pain and mild or dramatic changes in skin color, temperature, and/or swelling in the affected area.
CRPS symptoms vary in severity and duration. Studies of the incidence and prevalence of the disease show that most cases are mild and individuals recover gradually with time. In more severe cases, individuals may not recover and may have long-term disability."
Unfortunately, my mom's was severe. She has been permanently disabled since then, fluctuating in walking ability from a wheelchair, to walker, to a cane, back to a walker, to where she is now in the hospital.
Fast forwarding to more recent years...
On April 5th, 2014, our world had been struck with grief as my father and the husband of my mom for near three decades, passed away in his sleep due to heart issues. Anyone who suffers from chronic pain will tell you that things like grief and stress levels will absolutely spike their pain levels and influence their health. As much as I wish it had stopped here, it didn't.
The following year in 2015, both of her parents and my grandparents passed away within a month of each other. My grandmother had been diagnosed with two different types of stage 4 cancer. My mom fought through her health conditions to spend every chance possible with her mother while she could. While my grandmother was in hospice during her final days, my grandfather fell in the parking lot while leaving, breaking his hip and arm. He had to have surgery, and afterwards his digestive system never started working again. My grandmother passed while my grandfather was nearing his final days himself. They passed within 15 days of each other.
Dealing with the stress of now being without her husband, her parents, and it just being her and myself, her health started to see a massive decline. Due to her depression, she tends to have the natural inclination to help others out which in turn helps her feel better about her situation.
She had donated decent chunks of our savings towards different charities, lending friends money when they were in need, as well as helped a woman who was essentially homeless by letting her live in our basement with her two year old daughter. We helped pay bills for her, bought her child toys, and essentially adopted her into our family. This played a role in draining our savings as well. She has been the type of woman to always put others first, and this time it has come to us needing help.
For several years, she's been seeing her neck and back slowly get worse and worse, causing compression on her spinal cord and creating several severe symptoms. When issues like this arise, there's often a good chance of CRPS settling within this locations on your body.
About 6 months ago, my mom started to become incontinent. She lost control of her bladder and bowels, and was hardly able to walk most days. We had to have her walking with her walker when she could, and was no longer able to drive or really even get to the car. She talked to her doctor about getting surgery to relieve the compression on her neck and lumbar. The doctor refused to even consult with my mother until she had been 3 months free of smoking. While smoking is a terrible habit, it isn't easy to ask a woman with such severe illness to just quit a habit she's been doing for 15 years. She tried her best using patches, gum, anything that could be attempted. It wasn't working and my mom's health continued to nosedive while her doctor refused to do anything about it.
3 months ago, it was around 11pm and I had come downstairs to get a drink, and I found my mom sitting on the bed asleep. She was unable to really lay down on her own at the time. I helped her get into bed and then went to grab my drink, and as I was in the kitchen I heard what sounded like choking. My mom was aspirating on her own vomit. I managed to turn her over, and we ended up calling an ambulance to admit her to the ER. This forced the doctors' hands to perform emergency surgery to fix the compression issues as well as attempt to fuse her neck and lumber.
After a total of 6 surgeries, a combined total hours of about 24 hours, and several infections including Staph and MERSA that occurred, my mom is where she is now at an acute rehab facility. The decompression has worked, while the fusion did not. Her neck had dehisted 3 times since the surgery, requiring removal of the hardware. She currently is battling infections that have formed in her legs and is battling some vicious side effects from the very strong antibiotics they have her own currently as well. She's slated to hopefully be coming home in a few weeks and we have no idea what to do financially at this point.
Currently, my mom receives social security every month. It's enough to cover some of the living expenses, but not all of them. Due to her severe health conditions, her health insurance is around 800 dollars a month. We have tried and failed to find a cheaper alternative that will cover all of her needed medications and specialists she has to see. When you only receive 1700 a month in social security, and your mortage and health insurance combined exceed the amount you bring in, that leaves you no money for utilities or other bills.
I'm self-employed running my own photography business and have begun having some success. The problem is, my success is enough to pay my debt and bills I've accrued, leaving nothing else that I can contribute most months. I've spent thousands into this business over the years and have seen a return to live on, but not a return that is beyond a single man's living wage.
So what we are asking is... for help. Help with medical expenses, help with keeping things together in our home by paying bills, and help with putting food on our table. I don't want my mom coming home after 3+ months of being in hospital after hospital, immediately going from health crisis to financial crisis on top of it. This woman has been one of the strongest advocates and fighters of chronic pain out there, actually getting September officially acknowledged in Missouri as Pain Awareness Month. Also she has run the Kansas City Chronic Pain Support group until her health began to decline in the recent years.
This woman cares, and we have had everyone abandon, pass away, or turn their backs on us in this crisis except for our very close net of friends and family. We ask for your help in donating whatever you can afford, so we can see some relief until we can figure out our next moves, up to and including giving up our home.
I thank you for reading this far, and I beg of your help not for me, but for the woman who has so selflessly given until she now needs assistance herself.
Thank you.
Halloween night of '99, my mom was at an at-the-time friend's house. As she was walking down this friend's stairs to her main level of her house, my mom slipped on a 3-ring binder left on this person's stairs, causing my mom to fall down the stairs and break her ankle. There was no railing or lighting.
Due to this trauma, she developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, also known as CRPS or RSD.
CRPS is rated as the most severe chronic pain illness on the McGill University Pain Index. The definition is CPRS is as follows:
"Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition most often affecting one of the limbs (arms, legs, hands, or feet), usually after an injury or trauma to that limb. CRPS is believed to be caused by damage to, or malfunction of, the peripheral and central nervous systems. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system involves nerve signaling from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. CRPS is characterized by prolonged or excessive pain and mild or dramatic changes in skin color, temperature, and/or swelling in the affected area.
CRPS symptoms vary in severity and duration. Studies of the incidence and prevalence of the disease show that most cases are mild and individuals recover gradually with time. In more severe cases, individuals may not recover and may have long-term disability."
Unfortunately, my mom's was severe. She has been permanently disabled since then, fluctuating in walking ability from a wheelchair, to walker, to a cane, back to a walker, to where she is now in the hospital.
Fast forwarding to more recent years...
On April 5th, 2014, our world had been struck with grief as my father and the husband of my mom for near three decades, passed away in his sleep due to heart issues. Anyone who suffers from chronic pain will tell you that things like grief and stress levels will absolutely spike their pain levels and influence their health. As much as I wish it had stopped here, it didn't.
The following year in 2015, both of her parents and my grandparents passed away within a month of each other. My grandmother had been diagnosed with two different types of stage 4 cancer. My mom fought through her health conditions to spend every chance possible with her mother while she could. While my grandmother was in hospice during her final days, my grandfather fell in the parking lot while leaving, breaking his hip and arm. He had to have surgery, and afterwards his digestive system never started working again. My grandmother passed while my grandfather was nearing his final days himself. They passed within 15 days of each other.
Dealing with the stress of now being without her husband, her parents, and it just being her and myself, her health started to see a massive decline. Due to her depression, she tends to have the natural inclination to help others out which in turn helps her feel better about her situation.
She had donated decent chunks of our savings towards different charities, lending friends money when they were in need, as well as helped a woman who was essentially homeless by letting her live in our basement with her two year old daughter. We helped pay bills for her, bought her child toys, and essentially adopted her into our family. This played a role in draining our savings as well. She has been the type of woman to always put others first, and this time it has come to us needing help.
For several years, she's been seeing her neck and back slowly get worse and worse, causing compression on her spinal cord and creating several severe symptoms. When issues like this arise, there's often a good chance of CRPS settling within this locations on your body.
About 6 months ago, my mom started to become incontinent. She lost control of her bladder and bowels, and was hardly able to walk most days. We had to have her walking with her walker when she could, and was no longer able to drive or really even get to the car. She talked to her doctor about getting surgery to relieve the compression on her neck and lumbar. The doctor refused to even consult with my mother until she had been 3 months free of smoking. While smoking is a terrible habit, it isn't easy to ask a woman with such severe illness to just quit a habit she's been doing for 15 years. She tried her best using patches, gum, anything that could be attempted. It wasn't working and my mom's health continued to nosedive while her doctor refused to do anything about it.
3 months ago, it was around 11pm and I had come downstairs to get a drink, and I found my mom sitting on the bed asleep. She was unable to really lay down on her own at the time. I helped her get into bed and then went to grab my drink, and as I was in the kitchen I heard what sounded like choking. My mom was aspirating on her own vomit. I managed to turn her over, and we ended up calling an ambulance to admit her to the ER. This forced the doctors' hands to perform emergency surgery to fix the compression issues as well as attempt to fuse her neck and lumber.
After a total of 6 surgeries, a combined total hours of about 24 hours, and several infections including Staph and MERSA that occurred, my mom is where she is now at an acute rehab facility. The decompression has worked, while the fusion did not. Her neck had dehisted 3 times since the surgery, requiring removal of the hardware. She currently is battling infections that have formed in her legs and is battling some vicious side effects from the very strong antibiotics they have her own currently as well. She's slated to hopefully be coming home in a few weeks and we have no idea what to do financially at this point.
Currently, my mom receives social security every month. It's enough to cover some of the living expenses, but not all of them. Due to her severe health conditions, her health insurance is around 800 dollars a month. We have tried and failed to find a cheaper alternative that will cover all of her needed medications and specialists she has to see. When you only receive 1700 a month in social security, and your mortage and health insurance combined exceed the amount you bring in, that leaves you no money for utilities or other bills.
I'm self-employed running my own photography business and have begun having some success. The problem is, my success is enough to pay my debt and bills I've accrued, leaving nothing else that I can contribute most months. I've spent thousands into this business over the years and have seen a return to live on, but not a return that is beyond a single man's living wage.
So what we are asking is... for help. Help with medical expenses, help with keeping things together in our home by paying bills, and help with putting food on our table. I don't want my mom coming home after 3+ months of being in hospital after hospital, immediately going from health crisis to financial crisis on top of it. This woman has been one of the strongest advocates and fighters of chronic pain out there, actually getting September officially acknowledged in Missouri as Pain Awareness Month. Also she has run the Kansas City Chronic Pain Support group until her health began to decline in the recent years.
This woman cares, and we have had everyone abandon, pass away, or turn their backs on us in this crisis except for our very close net of friends and family. We ask for your help in donating whatever you can afford, so we can see some relief until we can figure out our next moves, up to and including giving up our home.
I thank you for reading this far, and I beg of your help not for me, but for the woman who has so selflessly given until she now needs assistance herself.
Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Colt Coan
Organizer
Kansas City, MO
Lisa Coan
Beneficiary
