Shirley's Journey to Live and Walk Again

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this! We are in desperate need of assistance for my beautiful sister Shirley Johnson. She recently had to make a life changing decision, to lose her leg or her life!!! As her sister I am truly grateful that she chose her life!! We could not imagine our lives without this wonderful woman in it!! As the amputation wasn't bad enough.....Shirley is also a diabetic.

It all started with a small wound on her leg, today.... She has no leg! Listening to what the many doctors and specialist told her to do, she went through several surgeries, including skin grafts, and many hospital stays, sometimes for months at a time. These hospital stays included the burn unit in Augusta, GA…on 4 different occasions, plus others. She still almost lost her life and she was away from her family for months at a time (due to Covid restrictions at hospitals) which you can only imagine was very hard for her and her family.

Unfortunately, nothing the doctors did worked and she had to have her leg amputated... She has suffered for over 5 years with this wound and excruciating pain that most people weren't party to, but I was. I cannot stress enough the amount of insufferable pain that she went through, I personally would not have been able to endure!!

Shirley is one of those people that no matter what you need, you know you can depend on her. She listens and gives her family and friends great advice, she always tries to help everyone in anyway that she can. She has always been the one we could go to for help and now she needs our HELP! So please let's show her some love, compassion and kindness, the same qualities she always displays to everyone who has ever met her. She has helped so many of us so many times, she has saved my life on more than one occasion simply by being her loving and supportive self. She has always worked hard, been self-sufficient and provided for her family, never asking for help. So it is tremendously hard for her to swallow her pride and admit she needs our help now. Allowing us to share her story and start this Go Fund Me page for her.

After the amputation Shirley was sent to rehab to help her learn to adapt to life without her leg. While her insurance paid some of these extraordinarily large bills, she was still required to pay out of her own pocket expenses to the rehab facility at almost $2,000.00 a week for 12 weeks, unless she ran out of funds and was asked to leave. Medical bills continue to come in, and pile up. She needed more rehab before going home, but could not afford it any longer. It was because of the complications with this wound over the years she was forced to medically retire before retirement age and became completely disabled. So, her income is very limited! After her stay in rehab she now has over $40,000 in debt in medical bills alone, and it is a debt that she cannot possibly pay on the disability income she receives.

Shirley's life has changed forever!! It has been a hard couple of years that we as a family have been helping to take care of her and now she needs 24 hr. care, so her husband stays home to provide need care. I would like to acknowledge her caregiver Debra Winn, if not for her I am not sure how Shirley would have made it through this. Shirley has changed so many of our lives with her love and kindness, now it is our turn to return the favor. Imagine if this was your mother, sister or other loved one, you would want to help them anyway you could. We are hoping this Go Fund Me account will help pay her outstanding medical bills and new lifestyle special needs. We are hoping that her friends, family, and our community are willing to help her in anyway they can. Thank you in advance for any donations that will help this wonderful woman. On behalf of Shirley thank you for taking the time to read her story and on behalf of her friends and family, we appreciate any generosity.

-Sharyn, Sister