Hello! My name is Brandi and my husband Terry. Nearly 3 years ago I almost lost my life to sepsis and a bowel perforation. I was airlifted to SSM University Hospital in Saint Louis Missouri in October 2022. When I arrived to SSM I was rushed into emergency surgery where I was intubated and placed into a coma due to the back to back surgeries I had to have in order to clear the skin necrosis and remove the sepsis and perforated cecum, ileum, ascending colon and my appendix all ruptured. I was in ICU for a over a month and Rehabilitation for almost a month to walk again and this was very hard on my family and my daughter at the time. The hospital was over two hours away and was very financially hard. My sister at the time was caring for my home because I couldn't work and helped pay some of my bills on top of her own. We had a go fund me to help with the travel costs and the costs to support my home from not being able to work.

Jump to today, I am facing yet another challenge that came from this issue nearly three years ago, I learned that from all the surgeries I endured while in my coma, my abdominal wall today is so weak that I have developed a very large concerning hernia. This hernia is not like any other hernia, my gap in my abdomen is the size of a grapefruit if not larger. The surgeon I saw in Fort Smith Arkansas said he cannot operate on me and needs me to either return back to the same surgeon that fixed me when I had sepsis (at SSM) or go to a Mayo Clinic in either Scottsdale Arizona or Cleveland Ohio due to how severe and damaged my abdomen is. The surgery I need is a abdominal wall reconstructive surgery to repair the hole in my abdomen and praying it fixes the issue.

Due to being placed on medical leave for work and the doctor applying me for short term disability, the financial costs of travel to and from Fort Smith Arkansas to Saint Louis Missouri and or possibly Mayo, it will be very hard for myself and my husband to pay bills and travel costs while I am out of work. I am told that my recovery time is 12+ weeks at the moment.

Your donation to me and my husband would help us greatly and we are so beyond blessed to have such loving and supportive family and friends. Thank you all for the continued prayers as I await this surgery and heal.

We will need the help for our first trip to Saint Louis Missouri soon so we can meet with the surgeons and discuss the treatment plan and dates for surgery.

I will be posting updates and I can't thank you all enough!

Love,

Brandi and Terry .