Marjorie Klein healthcare costs
Donation protected
My Mom, Marjorie Klein, is facing an incredible mountain of medical expenses and we are asking those who are able to help us out.
On January 28th, 2019 life drastically changed for my Mom.
What she had previously believed to be increasingly severe back pain became something so much worse. She couldn't move. The pain was so extreme that she felt paralyzed. Paramedics were needed to remove her from her house and get her to the hospital emergency room.
When I received a phone call from my Dad’s phone the next day, I knew something was up. My Mom makes all of the phone calls, not my Dad. Although he was shaken by the ordeal of getting my mother to the hospital the night prior, we still really had no idea how bad things were.
Week after week at the hospital went by with little signs of progress. My Mom was in so much pain, unable to move, and begging for every painkiller the doctors and nurses could offer. It was so hard to sit in the hospital room with her, and feel so completely unable to do anything to help. Eventual MRI tests revealed pockets of infection on her spinal column in her lower back and antibiotics were started and continued every few hours. Every day. The overwhelming amount of painkillers were continually provided throughout the day, and hardly even helped to take the edge off of her pain.
A few weeks later, more MRI tests were ordered and these revealed that the infection was also in her cervical spine, around the discs in her neck. Upon seeing the results, she was immediately taken in for emergency surgery. The surgery was risky and the concern was that near her vocal chords it could have been possible that she could lose her voice. Also, the surgeon later explained, if she did not get this surgery done right away it would have been very possible that she would have been paralyzed from her neck down. By the grace of God, neither of these happened and the surgery, coupled with the continued antibiotics, put her on a course toward recovery.
Shortly after leaving the ICU, she was then transferred to Marionjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. After more than a month of intense rehab and recuperation at Marionjoy, she was then transferred to Wyndscape Rehabilitation Center, where she proceeded to spend the next few months.
Today, after nearly 5 months of hospitalization and rehab, my Mom is about to return to her house for the first time since that fateful night in January. But she still has a long, long way to go. She is unable to sit up on her own, let alone stand. Whereas standing is a future goal we pray is only months away, walking again is dream that may still be years away.
While we are so thankful that Marjorie is coming home, she is returning to a home that now needs to be outfitted with a hospital bed. She will need a hoyer lift to get her from her bed to her wheelchair, as she is unable to transfer under her own power. The house now has a rented wheelchair ramp outfitted to the front door. And she will need hours of in-home care every day. Every doctor's visit for the coming months will require a medical transport to and from the hospital or doctor's office.
While $15,000 is surely a lot to ask of our family and friends, it is about the cost of her out-of-pocket medical expenses for just the next 3 months. Although I had never dreamed that I would turn to a crowdsourcing site and ask for help, my prayer is that our many friends and family can come together to help my parents out in their time of need.
Please donate if you can. Any little bit you can offer can go a long way. And please SHARE this message.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your generosity. And most importantly, thank you for your continued LOVE and SUPPORT.
Blessings and thanks in advance from
Kevin, Nicholas, Steve and the entire Klein and Raymond Family.
On January 28th, 2019 life drastically changed for my Mom.
What she had previously believed to be increasingly severe back pain became something so much worse. She couldn't move. The pain was so extreme that she felt paralyzed. Paramedics were needed to remove her from her house and get her to the hospital emergency room.
When I received a phone call from my Dad’s phone the next day, I knew something was up. My Mom makes all of the phone calls, not my Dad. Although he was shaken by the ordeal of getting my mother to the hospital the night prior, we still really had no idea how bad things were.
Week after week at the hospital went by with little signs of progress. My Mom was in so much pain, unable to move, and begging for every painkiller the doctors and nurses could offer. It was so hard to sit in the hospital room with her, and feel so completely unable to do anything to help. Eventual MRI tests revealed pockets of infection on her spinal column in her lower back and antibiotics were started and continued every few hours. Every day. The overwhelming amount of painkillers were continually provided throughout the day, and hardly even helped to take the edge off of her pain.
A few weeks later, more MRI tests were ordered and these revealed that the infection was also in her cervical spine, around the discs in her neck. Upon seeing the results, she was immediately taken in for emergency surgery. The surgery was risky and the concern was that near her vocal chords it could have been possible that she could lose her voice. Also, the surgeon later explained, if she did not get this surgery done right away it would have been very possible that she would have been paralyzed from her neck down. By the grace of God, neither of these happened and the surgery, coupled with the continued antibiotics, put her on a course toward recovery.
Shortly after leaving the ICU, she was then transferred to Marionjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. After more than a month of intense rehab and recuperation at Marionjoy, she was then transferred to Wyndscape Rehabilitation Center, where she proceeded to spend the next few months.
Today, after nearly 5 months of hospitalization and rehab, my Mom is about to return to her house for the first time since that fateful night in January. But she still has a long, long way to go. She is unable to sit up on her own, let alone stand. Whereas standing is a future goal we pray is only months away, walking again is dream that may still be years away.
While we are so thankful that Marjorie is coming home, she is returning to a home that now needs to be outfitted with a hospital bed. She will need a hoyer lift to get her from her bed to her wheelchair, as she is unable to transfer under her own power. The house now has a rented wheelchair ramp outfitted to the front door. And she will need hours of in-home care every day. Every doctor's visit for the coming months will require a medical transport to and from the hospital or doctor's office.
While $15,000 is surely a lot to ask of our family and friends, it is about the cost of her out-of-pocket medical expenses for just the next 3 months. Although I had never dreamed that I would turn to a crowdsourcing site and ask for help, my prayer is that our many friends and family can come together to help my parents out in their time of need.
Please donate if you can. Any little bit you can offer can go a long way. And please SHARE this message.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your generosity. And most importantly, thank you for your continued LOVE and SUPPORT.
Blessings and thanks in advance from
Kevin, Nicholas, Steve and the entire Klein and Raymond Family.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kevin Klein
Organizer
Glen Ellyn, IL
Marjorie Klein
Beneficiary
