Who is Katie?
Katie is a mother of 2, a wife, a daughter, a sister, aunt, a multi-animal mom, an incredible survivor, and so much more. She has been a lifelong friend of mine and has a heart of incredible size. She is always there for me and anyone else when there’s a call for help of any kind. She’s been there for me and anyone and everyone for anything. Emotional, mental, and physical support, along with any random favor you may need. She has survived and persevered through some incredible fights that most of us are fortunate enough to never have to face. She has never asked for anything to be done in return and has taken everything possible in stride with a smile. Her laugh, her energy, and her heart are infectious. To know her, is to love her.
As fortunate as I am to be one of her best friends, I have come to the realization that she may not be here for as long as the people that love her would like.
What happened…
In 2001 she was facing health problems that couldn’t be ignored. She sought out help from local doctors and they told her she needed a procedure that would be life changing and solve all of her problems. She decided to go forward with what she was advised would help her live a better life. She was only 22 years old and was 240 pounds and deemed “morbidly obese” by the medical standards of the day. The doctors performed the surgery and she lost 120 pounds in 3 months and the doctors hailed her as a “success story.” From 2001 until 2018 she has struggled to maintain weight and has had digestive system issues that could not be diagnosed. In the summer of 2019, Katie had been rushed to the hospital because of fatigue and weight loss even further. Her body had begun to give up. After a battery of tests doctors say she can not properly digest food. From then until present day she has literally been wasting away because no matter how much she eats, she can’t gain weight or absorb nutrients. The doctors recently had to put in a feeding tube to her stomach and had to take it out because of how shrunken her stomach is and her stomach and digestive system can not absorb any nutrients. It came to the conclusion that what she has gone through was the result of a botched surgery early on in the development of Gastric Bypass surgery that caused all the problems Katie has had to live with for the past 20 years. Katie now weighs 103 pounds and needs more medical attention than ever to continue to fight her battle.
Because of her weakened state and malnutrition, she has lost teeth, bone mass, hair, and is now at risk of several other infections and unforeseen complications because of everything she has gone through. Her husband is working 2 jobs because she is completely unable to work and he just wants to see his wife survive. Co-pays, hospital visits, hospital stays, medications, dental costs, surgeries, lost wages and cost of living has caused extreme hardship on Katie and all the people that love and depend on her. Katie holds it all in and I did not realize what the situation was until recently and I want nothing more than to relieve some of the hardships she and her family has endured.
How to help…
Weighing in now at about 105 pounds when this was written, Katie needs help to prepare for one of the greatest fights of her life but she’s completely exhausted financially, mentally, and physically. Due to having zero nutrient absorption, she has started to lose what teeth she had left. She has tried feeding tubes, ports, liquid shakes, and anything else you can imagine to get some type of nutrients. Her body has not done well the tubes and ports. Her bones in her jaw will no longer support the implants that she’s still paying off. Her dentist can no longer do anything for her until those are paid. She is trying to get snap-in teeth, as there is no jaw bone to hold a partial.
We are trying to raise some funds to help with the outrageous medical and dental bills and help her get a snap-in so she can keep attempting to eat. Doctors are willing to attempt one more surgery with a direct PIC line to get her nutrients, but this will not help with calories. If she cannot eat, she cannot get desperately needed calories. There is no weight left to lose and Katie does not have anything else left to give.
Please consider donating, or if not, please just share. Katie is one of my best friends and I can’t fathom a future without her.
Anything helps and at this point another dollar could mean another day. Thank you for taking the time to read this and please help us help Katie.
Thank you for your consideration!
