Support Matt's Journey to Recovery

My name is Kelley. My husband Matt had an above the knee leg amputation performed on June 17, 2024. He had been fighting to heal wounds on his shin and foot, following medical advice and routinely going to wound care appointments. We insisted that his foot was infected to the wound care doctor, to the ERs he went to see when it started hurting, and to the staff where he was hospitalized. No one found an issue with the foot, and we were sent home - until we weren’t. On June 7, 2024 we went to an 8a wound care appointment to find that in the two days since I had last changed his bandages, the foot had become so infected and swollen that he needed to be taken to the ER immediately. They did two surgeries to try to save the foot. It turned out that almost the entire bottom of his left foot had become necrotic - the tissue was dead.

Matt has a litany of health issues - heart failure, end stage kidney failure, diabetes, diabetic retinopathy, PTSD, ADHD. He has been fighting to be healthy for years, fighting bad luck and infection after infection. Prior to his amputation he had been on bed rest for 7 months in an attempt to heal a toe amputation that required two revision surgeries. Between infections and surgeries and diseases, he has been hospitalized 16 times between Oct 2023 and June 2024. He had surgery on 7/17/24 to try to repair the diabetic retinopathy - his retina has started to detach from his left eye, and combined with the cornea scar on his right eye he is slowly regaining his vision.

Given his history, he was told it would take a miracle to heal his foot, another year or more on bed rest, and there were no guarantees it would work. The wounds on his shin meant they couldn’t just take the foot, they would have to do an above the knee leg amputation to ensure they removed all the infection. It turned out to be a good decision - when they tested the leg, it showed that all 7 wounds on it had been infected, where the tissue left behind was healthy.

Matt can never come home. Our apartment that we’ve lived in for the last 5 years is up a flight of stairs, and our complex informed us that we are ineligible to switch units. We went to a doctor’s appointment and now he can never come home. He is going to be wheelchair-bound for at least 6 months while we wait for his amputation to heal and he starts getting fitted for a prosthetic.

I lost my job when my performance faltered because I was caring for Matt full time as well as trying to work 50 hours a week, commuting an hour round trip 5-6 days a week. I would tend to his wounds, bring him to and from dialysis 3 times a week, bring him to weekly doctors appointments of various sorts, give him morning and evening meds, check his blood sugar throughout the day, provide food, clean clothes, and generally manage the house. I wore myself too thin. Losing my job turned out to be a blessing, in all honesty, because I could stay with Matt during the 6 weeks he spent in the hospital between going in for the surgery and going to a rehabilitation hospital. While Matt is on disability, he had been rejected for Medicaid because he hadn't been disabled long enough so he was on my insurance through work. After we realized he needed the amputation, my parents paid for COBRA coverage through June 30, 2024 - so at least Matt will have insurance, but they are taking their time activating the coverage.

Matt came "home" from the rehab hospital on 7/8/24. We have been very blessed to be welcomed in by my Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rikk who had a bedroom to spare and a one-level home not far from our apartment. Since we had COBRA insurance and medicaid pending, no supplies companies would supply us with the mobility aids we needed. Matt's mom and my Aunt Cindy bought us a wheelchair, a walker, slide boards, you name it. My parents, Matt's mom, and various other family members have been helping us get our bills paid.

Matt was hospitalized again on Thursday 7/25 for an infection in his residual limb. He now has a super bug because the Corewell team failed to completely clear the infection before sending him off. So far he has had two surgeries on the residual limb to clear out infected tissue.

Medicaid has rejected Matt’s initial claim for coverage saying they need more proof of his disability, despite receiving his proof of income being social security payments for disability. We are having to pay for COBRA coverage longer than we anticipated.

All this is to say - we need help. Our income went from $100k a year when we were both working full time to us relying on his disability check. Our lease is up and we need to find an accessible unit by the end of August - which we will need a deposit and first+last months rent for, as well as renting what we need to move our stuff. While we are cutting back expenses, including trying to sell one of our vehicles, we need all the help we can get. We made an Amazon wish list for fun and necessary things if that’s more appealing than sending money as well.

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