Support Scott McElrath's Healing Journey

On February 2, 2024 our (Scott McElrath and Tia Bivens) lives were turned upside-down when Scott was admitted to the hospital. He had a diabetic ulcer on his right heel, and the wound had gone so deep it almost touched bone. The scans showed it was so close, they had to treat it as a bone injury. Six days later Scott came home with a PICC line, a walking cast for the right foot, instructions for me to change the wound daily, and a new life began.

On March 27th, things changed again when, at the first wound care clinic appointment, a second ulcer was found on Scott's left heel. He was put on non-weight bearing status: absolutely no walking unless absolutely necessary, and even then only between bed, toilet, and recliner. He has to wear "puffer boots" 24/7 - boots that offload all the pressure off Scott's wounds to enable healing. He even has to sleep wearing them! When he does need to walk I change his shoes to post-surgical open-toe walking shoes; once he's done I put the puffer boots back on.

As of today (July 11th, 2024), Scott is still on these protocols - with the exception he can now walk about 5 minutes every so often. To be trapped like this is suffering beyond the capability of putting into mere words, but Scott continues to follow the medical orders. He's now on month four of not walking, or driving, or working, or leaving the house for anything other than medical appointments. When he does leave the house, when we reach our destination he goes into his wheelchair where I push him through the maze of medical office hallways. The emotional strength and pure stubbornness Scott is known for (anger and hard-headedness are two adjectives that also fit) HAS helped - both wounds are healing!

That healing process is, however, SLOW. All the medical people Scott sees are impressed with the healing, and happy with the progress. There is just no way for anyone to even give a prediction as to when he can start working again. Once his wound doctor, foot surgeon, and GP agree, he starts PT to try to gain back what he's lost this year.

While Scott is dealing with his physical injuries, he is off work. Scott works in a factory, and is on his feet the majority of the day. His employer is fantastic, and has granted Scott a leave of absence until February 2025 (if needed for that long). Short term disability paid for 12 weeks, then long term disability started in May. We're thankful to have some money coming in at this time, but it's less than half of Scott's base pay. Since he's the sole earner, it's been really rough on our finances.

Friends and family have been incredibly generous with their time and money, but we're at a point where we need more financial help. I'm visiting food banks, contact with 211 has been made, and we've squeezed everything we can out of our assets and finances.

This GoFundMe is to raise funds to help pay for our rent for the rest of 2024 (August-December; July is paid). With this money burden off our shoulders, we can survive on the long term disability funds and other community help.

Believe us, we know times are tough for everyone. We wouldn't be doing this if we hadn't exhausted other options.

Thank you for sharing, either monetarily or sharing our page.

-Scott & Tia