Hello, my name is Angela McElwrath, my husband is Tommy McElwrath, we have a 6 year old son named Zayne, and we have been together for 27 years! On Feb 2, 2025 Tommy became ill. We originally thought it was the flu and treated it as such, but by the time midweek rolled around, we couldn’t get his fever to break and decided to take him to the hospital, not knowing our entire lives would never be the same once we entered those doors. After being examined, it was discovered he was in AFIB, tachycardia, septic shock, his kidneys were shutting down, and he wound up spending 6 long and terrifying nights in the ICU. It was literally touch and go, him fighting for his life, and all of us praying like our lives depended on it. On Feb 13, 2025, after exhausting all other options, he had to have a below the knee amputation to save his life due to the severity of the infection. He spent another month in the hospital, not being released until March 14th having to work with the orthopedist, prosthetic specialists, and numerous exhausting and painful days of rehab.

Tommy has always been a hard worker. Since the age of 5 (it was a different time in the early 80s) mowing lawns and working odd jobs until the age of 16 when he could get a regular job. At the age of 21 he fulfilled a childhood dream of becoming a truck driver. I know it sounds odd that a child’s dream would be to be a driver, but he is a 3rd generation driver following in the steps of his grandfather and father, and he loved the idea of travel and the open road. He was able to live his dream for 27 years, until now that is. He has always lived to hunt and fish, and would spend his entire year saving up vacation time to be able to take time off in November to do just that. Tommy has always helped others, even to the detriment of himself. It could be as simple as a phone call, handyman, a ride to the grocery store, or as large as letting people live in his home for years at a time helping to house, feed, and clothe those in need until they were back on their feet. He has always given 110% of himself to help others, not once asking for anything in return.

Over the next few months, we will need to modify a few things in our home to make them more accessible for Tommy’s needs. One of the largest expenses will be a “walk in” style shower, but he also needs a ramp, transfer boards, prosthetics, walkers, wheelchairs, a hospital bed, etc. There has also been lost wages up until this point, hospital expenses (you can only imagine this bill) travel expenses, medical supplies, etc, etc, etc. All of this will be out of pocket, and that pocket is shallow due to he and I not being able to work at the moment. I (Angela) am currently on FMLA, as I am his primary caretaker along with assistance from nursing and rehabilitation staff. He will be out of work for close to a year without a paycheck, and I will go back as soon as he is stable and independent, but we do not have a time frame for that as of yet. This is a terrifying time due to not having any idea when we will be able to work again.

Tommy has always taken care of every aspect of providing for our family, so this is definitely a change of pace for him, and a huge adjustment for all of us.

Although it is extremely difficult to set aside our pride, we believe you reap what you have sown in this life, and we are asking anyone to help if you can, prayers included. For anyone that has already given and stepped up to lend a hand, we are forever grateful and so incredibly blessed.

Thank you, and many blessings,

The McElwrath Family