Help after open heart surgery and leg amputation

My name is Patty Bruce. I am 61 years old. My husband and soul mate of 42 years passed away on February 10, 2022. We have 2 children and 9 grandchildren. On January 27, 2023, I went to the emergency room with heart attack symptoms. On the 28th, they took me to the the cath lab, to look for blockages, and they inserted a balloon in to one of the arteries in my left leg. They determined that I needed a triple bypass and that I needed two heart valves replaced. On January 31st, I had open heart surgery.

I was in ICU and I complained about pain and numbness in my leg after they looked for blockages and I continued to complain after my heart surgery, but the doctors and nurses kept saying nothing was wrong. On February 2nd, I could no longer take the pain in my leg and I demanded a doctor come and look at my leg. The ICU nursing staff kept saying they would let the doctor know. But, no doctor ever came to look at it. I told nurses to call my children, Renee and Calvin, and tell them to come to the hospital. I told them to give me the phone so I could call them, and they told me the phone did not reach to my bed. The nursing staff treated me as though I was just being a difficult patient. I had a childlike meltdown demanding that they call my children, and they kept telling me they had called my children. Somehow, I ended up on the phone with my best friend and explained what was going on. She called my children and told them to get to the hospital ASAP.

A doctor looked at my leg while my children were enroute to the hospital. A surgeon called my daughter and told her that I probably had a blood clot and that they would probably have to amputate my leg. When my children got to the hospital, I learned that my daughter never got a phone call from the nursing staff. I explained that a nurse refused to help me, and mocked me, the night before. I explained that there was something wrong with my leg and that I had been begging for nurses to call a doctor to look at it. The surgeon told us that I, most likely, would not survive the surgery. The surgeon told my children that he suspected that the blood clot had been there for several days. I was in surgery in less than 1 hour.

I had the most heartbreaking and difficult conversation that I have ever had to have with my children; I said goodbye to them and told them my funeral wishes. I made phone calls to as many of my nearest and dearest family members and close friends as I could, to say goodbye and tell them that I love them. I prayed all of the way to the operating room and asked God to please let me live. God heard my prayer. My left leg was amputated, but God let me live.

I spent almost 4 weeks in the hospital. I am at home recovering, and cannot work, yet. When I am able to work, I will have to take quite a bit of time off for doctor and physical therapy appointments. I have a long and difficult road ahead of me. I am in need of help to pay my household bills, groceries, dog and cat food, gas for rides to doctor and therapy appointments, co-pays, and medical equipment rental. Some of my bills are past due. I will undergo 4 to 6 weeks of physical therapy, once I am measured for a prosthetic leg, which will, also, cost me a 20% co-pay. I am going to work very hard to get my life as close to normal as possible, as quickly as possible.

This has been the worst year of my entire life, and it is very difficult for me to ask for help, but I need some help. If you can help in any way, I would be very grateful. If you cannot help, please pray that I have a full recovery, and if you can, please share this link with others.

Thank you for your time, and anything that you can do to help.

Sincerely,

Patty Bruce