Help Zen Walk Again
Donation protected
Update: 06/27/2020
I got my prosthetic leg! you can see it on the photo and now I can walk and I got my driving license permit as well! next step now is finding a job!
I could not have done it without you all! thank you for your help and god bless you!
HELP ZEN WALK AGAIN
Can you imagine your life on the run, constantly hiding in the wooded mountains, never sure you will be able to outrun the genocide going on around you?
Like so many from Kosovo, that was Zen Hoti’s life throughout the 1998-1999 war there. And on April 28, 1999, it was about to take a turn for the worse. The war between Serbians and Albanians raged on, reaching its most intense fighting. Bombs fell from the sky. Mines exploded up from the ground.
Shrapnel from one of the land mines hit Zen’s foot.
To save his life, he had to remain in hiding but under those difficult circumstances, his injury became infected and spread further throughout his foot. Finally, Zen found an army base with doctors who agreed to care for him. Unfortunately, it was simply too late. The infection had spread into his bloodstream. They did not have the facilities, equipment or technology to truly help him.
Even in times of peace, Kosovo’s healthcare is substandard. After the war, the only method of treatment available to Zen was still just oral antibiotics. So, between 2000 and 2019, he lived his life as best he could, taking antibiotics for the growing infection and working odd jobs to provide for his wife, Drita, and three children—Yllka, Kaltrina and Driton. Zen is a strong man—physically and emotionally. He did not let his injury stop him from moving forward. He never complained about his circumstances. He kept going with pride and determination. But when he had a severe allergic reaction to a strain of antibiotics he was taking, he went into shock, nearly dying. The infection in his foot eventually destroyed his bones and engulfed his ankle.
Something drastic had to be done.
By 2019, Zen’s grown daughter, Yllka, and her husband, Ken, were living in the United States. They had become U.S. citizens and were working hard to save up enough money to bring Zen to the U.S. Within days of arriving, they took him to a local emergency room where the doctors did the only thing that would save Zen’s diminishing life. They amputated his right leg, just below the knee. Without American doctors’ intervention, Zen would have died from the growing, invasive infection.
Today, Zen and Drita are living in the U.S. with Yllka and Ken. Zen has recovered from his surgery. He completed intensive physical therapy with his trademark determination and pride. His surgeon says the wound from his amputation is healing perfectly and Zen is ready for a prosthetic leg. And with a clean bill of health in all areas, Zen is a perfect candidate for a prosthesis.
However, as a Kosovar Albanian who only recently came to America, Zen is not eligible for healthcare coverage. He is a physical laborer so getting work without a prosthetic is nearly impossible. He has a strong desire to work. He remains the main provider for Drita and their son, Driton, who still lives in Kosovo. The family’s financial resources are drained. And prosthetic legs cost $15,000 to $80,000.
This is where YOU can be a HERO… You can help Zen walk again!
Please make a gift to Zen’s gofundme account and watch as you and others literally transform his life. This is an investment that will help Zen but it will also help the community where he will put his talents to use and the country he has chosen to make his home
I got my prosthetic leg! you can see it on the photo and now I can walk and I got my driving license permit as well! next step now is finding a job!
I could not have done it without you all! thank you for your help and god bless you!
HELP ZEN WALK AGAIN
Can you imagine your life on the run, constantly hiding in the wooded mountains, never sure you will be able to outrun the genocide going on around you?
Like so many from Kosovo, that was Zen Hoti’s life throughout the 1998-1999 war there. And on April 28, 1999, it was about to take a turn for the worse. The war between Serbians and Albanians raged on, reaching its most intense fighting. Bombs fell from the sky. Mines exploded up from the ground.
Shrapnel from one of the land mines hit Zen’s foot.
To save his life, he had to remain in hiding but under those difficult circumstances, his injury became infected and spread further throughout his foot. Finally, Zen found an army base with doctors who agreed to care for him. Unfortunately, it was simply too late. The infection had spread into his bloodstream. They did not have the facilities, equipment or technology to truly help him.
Even in times of peace, Kosovo’s healthcare is substandard. After the war, the only method of treatment available to Zen was still just oral antibiotics. So, between 2000 and 2019, he lived his life as best he could, taking antibiotics for the growing infection and working odd jobs to provide for his wife, Drita, and three children—Yllka, Kaltrina and Driton. Zen is a strong man—physically and emotionally. He did not let his injury stop him from moving forward. He never complained about his circumstances. He kept going with pride and determination. But when he had a severe allergic reaction to a strain of antibiotics he was taking, he went into shock, nearly dying. The infection in his foot eventually destroyed his bones and engulfed his ankle.
Something drastic had to be done.
By 2019, Zen’s grown daughter, Yllka, and her husband, Ken, were living in the United States. They had become U.S. citizens and were working hard to save up enough money to bring Zen to the U.S. Within days of arriving, they took him to a local emergency room where the doctors did the only thing that would save Zen’s diminishing life. They amputated his right leg, just below the knee. Without American doctors’ intervention, Zen would have died from the growing, invasive infection.
Today, Zen and Drita are living in the U.S. with Yllka and Ken. Zen has recovered from his surgery. He completed intensive physical therapy with his trademark determination and pride. His surgeon says the wound from his amputation is healing perfectly and Zen is ready for a prosthetic leg. And with a clean bill of health in all areas, Zen is a perfect candidate for a prosthesis.
However, as a Kosovar Albanian who only recently came to America, Zen is not eligible for healthcare coverage. He is a physical laborer so getting work without a prosthetic is nearly impossible. He has a strong desire to work. He remains the main provider for Drita and their son, Driton, who still lives in Kosovo. The family’s financial resources are drained. And prosthetic legs cost $15,000 to $80,000.
This is where YOU can be a HERO… You can help Zen walk again!
Please make a gift to Zen’s gofundme account and watch as you and others literally transform his life. This is an investment that will help Zen but it will also help the community where he will put his talents to use and the country he has chosen to make his home
Organizer
Zenel Hoti
Organizer
Lancaster, PA