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28 yrs young and trying to survive

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This is the story of my son's Nanny’s son, David and his fiancé, Taylor.  Antonieta has been with us since Eddie was a baby, now he is a teenager.   I've watched her kids grow up.  This story breaks my heart and I ask anyone with a child young or old, please donate if you can to help this young couple who are struggling with these set of circumstances.

Taylor is a 28-year-old young woman who has been in  love with Antonieta's son David since fall of 2008.
Their planning to be married July 28th, 2018.

 The story begins when Taylor experienced leg pain and swelling in December.  I remember her asking on Facebook in December for a massage therapist to help her pain.  She had been seeing a workman's comp doctor since she had torn her ligament at work and complained to them about the pain and swelling and even discoloration on several occasions -  they said it was normal for the injury.

 By this past Christmas she could not walk without help.  The pain and swelling became overwhelming.  Christmas night all the kids were staying at Antonieta's daughter’s home in Tracy, CA.  While in bed, Antonieta heard a blood curdling scream.  She didn't know where it was coming from.  She went into the bathroom to find Taylor screaming, “I CAN’T FEEL MY LEGS!!”  They immediately called 911.

She was taken to Tracy Sutter Memorial Hospital where she spent 10 hours and was diagnosed with Sciatica. 

Taylor couldn't withstand the pain and David AGAIN took her to Sutter Memorial Hospital now in Modesto.  She spent 12 hours with no answers. 

Sunday, December 31, 2017, David couldn’t watch her in this much pain anymore; he knew something was terribly wrong. No one could figure this out, he decided to drive her to Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, CA which is at least an hour and a half from their home.

Stanford Hospital checked Taylor in immediately after arriving – in less than 30 minutes they were doing an ultrasound of her heart.  Minutes later they had someone by her bedside telling her they had found an enlarged left ventricle as well as a large clot flapping around.  They were shocked as this was NEVER discovered in her last two visits to the ER.  They admitted her and concluded she was in congestion heart failure.
In addition, testing discovered both legs were filled with blood clots!   

 Taylor was immediately sent to surgery for ten hours, they cut her groin open to access the veins and arteries in her legs.  At her inner knees they inserted catheters with balloon ends to drag out all the clots.  They wanted to perform a bypass where they could take good veins from other areas of her legs and patch them in the damaged areas but there was so much clotting they couldn’t do it. 

 The next day her right leg started to clot back up and lose circulation.  They were told there wasn’t much to do except amputation.  Another day passed and one of the many doctors at Stanford believed -  because she was young, and she could still move her right foot -  he would try something different.  He would insert 4 tubes into her left artery and across the groin and down the right leg.  Unfortunately, 24 hours later remained many clots.

 Again, another surgery, this time 8 hours.  Taylor feared she would wake up with an amputated leg.

Taylor spent the next month battling complications, recovering with wound vacs and blood transfusions.  She was transferred to Acute Rehab February 8, 2018 at Alta Bates in Oakland.

More complications…she was sent home in a wheelchair with blood blisters that had ruptured making walking impossible.

This brings us to March 12th, Taylor is back at Stanford where they have decided to amputate her right foot half way.    
She prepared for her foot to be amputated but they decided to take her for surgery to clean it up before the surgery. 

Not only is she dealing with losing her foot, but Taylor wears a vest all the time to help her heart restart if, God forbids it stops - it will automatically shock it.   

David has learned to be her nurse, packing wounds, listening for anything abnormal.  He is her advocate, her supporter and fiancé.  

 

Update:  3/16/18

 At 9AM today the doctors will attempt an experimental procedure, amputate her toes and remove all the dead tissue in a large portion of her foot, leaving only bones and tendons.  They will then graft in artificial issue made from umbilical cord that naturally contains stem cells in hopes this will take a and regenerate growth in her foot.  If this works, she will keep most of her foot except her toes.  Either way, Taylor is looking at 2 more additional surgeries following this one tomorrow. 

 They have moved out of their home, put all their belongings in storage and are currently staying with family members near Stanford Hospital.   David has taken a leave of absence from his current job at a moving company and works odd jobs so he can take care of Taylor.

 Taylor’s mother passed away last year, March 1, 2017 at 55 from congestive heart failure.  She had infections in her legs, in and out of hospitals - fighting heart problems and eventually started having bed sores that got infected and she became septic - this caused organ failure.  

Taylor will be in Rehab after her next surgery, blood thinners are a challenge as well as her heart.  This couple needs any sort of help anyone can give - they will forever be grateful.

They do not like to ask for handouts, so I’m asking for your help.

 
Thank you,

 Anneliese Shimmon-Stanton
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $100 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Anneliese Shimmon-Stanton
Organizer
Walnut Creek, CA
Taylor Mattos
Beneficiary

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