Rally for John's New Beginning Post-Amputation
Donation protected
- Hello good people of this wonderful planet. My name is John Petrovich. I am originally from California but have been existing and thriving in the wonderful space of the greater Eugene area. I cant state enough how happy I have been since I moved up to the Eugene area to be closer to family and thrive in a wonderful area of beauty and great weather. A little backstory is that I have been working towards my ultimate goal of running my own construction business, over the last 10 years, specializing in concrete construction in the greater Eugene area. I have amassed 10 years of construction knowledge learning from the best concrete finishers and business owners of this area. As well I earned my two year Associates of Applied Science degree from Lane Community College in Construction Technology and Management. Just as I got My business started and registered as DFTS Construction which stands For "Down For The Struggle" which was a saying and motto my football team and specifically the offensive and defensive lineman of my team lived by. It was our rallying cry our motto and our belief in how to get through all of life's struggles. Which is fitting because just as I Started this business I had the biggest Struggle of my life in the form of complete blood clotting of my left leg. In December of 2024 I began experiencing numbness and pain in my left foot. It never crossed my mind that such a nominal thing in my mind would be the downfall to my leg. I kept working on this numbness and it progressed and got worse. The numbness and pain began to spread up my leg all the way to my hip. About a month and a half of working through this excruciating pain and loss of feeling I sprained my ankle and felt several tears in my leg at the calf, knee, and thigh which now I have come to believe was the blood clots moving up my leg like a backed up highway clogging all the side streets and major highways of my leg. So I took some time to heal and took time off working on construction projects. As I rested my leg swelling engulfed my leg. I was immobile I could not stand, walk or lay down comfortably. I was in constant pain and utterly miserable. At this time my toenail on my left foot punctured through my skin and started a horrible bout of necrosis to my foot which turned to gangrene of my foot. Because of the blood clots of my leg my whole foot began to die. At this time I went into the hospital and was immediately taken to the surgery department and was informed I had intense and complete blood clotting of my left leg through CT scans and other tests. I immediately was given an emergency surgery by a wonderful doctor at the River Bend Hospital in Springfield Oregon. This surgery was intended to remove the clots out of my left leg and foot. The doctor was able to remove large segments of blood clots that looked like entire twigs of blood clots and a cup full of blood clots. My Doctor informed me these were not new and were from chronic clotting and I had a leg that was completely clotted for a very long time probably months. After this surgery my leg completely clotted in less than a day. At this time I was emergency lifted by helicopter and plane through LifeLite to another hospital In Seattle Washington called Harbor View Medical center which specialized in this type of thing. As I lay strapped to my gurney watching mountains fly by, it began to sink in what a serious situation I was in. I was more than likely to lose my leg, and be in crippling debt and the fear of having to change the way I made a living which I loved so much. Harbor View Hospital was a repeat kind of situation. Another surgery was performed to remove my clots without success. I was then transferred back down home. I was out of hospital for a couple days when the pain drove me back to River Bend Hospital to seek treatment and ultimately an amputation. This is where I lay now a day out of surgery of the amputation, with the utmost goal in me to return to my life and return to my trade and make my business thrive. I will not let this undiagnosed blood clotting disorder and the loss of my leg slow me down. Through the strength and generosity of friends and family and the wonderful nurses and doctors I have made it this far. At this time I am reaching out to a larger community of this platform and hopefully to new friends and family I hope to make on this journey for assistance. Anything that I am able to raise through this platform will go directly to my care, to my finances of living, rent, medical bills, and a prosthetic for my leg which I have been informed because of the type of movement (bending, kneeling, and heavy lifting) and the type of amputation of above the knee the cost of the prosthetic will be substantial. I thank all of you for reading and for anything that you can contribute or donate.
Organizer
John Petrovich
Organizer
Springfield, OR