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My Cousin, Kim Sickage, has been on nursing home lock-down FOUR long months, and she's "graduating" to assisted living. She's been unable to work since 2006 due to her disability and has limited resources. She'll need smaller furniture for the assisted living apartment, to include a hospital bed, nightstand, chest of drawers, lift chair, kitchen table & chairs, TV stand, etc. Additionally, she'll need ongoing financial help for personal living expenses like clothing, hygiene items, phone, etc. Unfortunately, the nearest assisted living facility licensed for Kim's situation is 2 1/2 hours away. Hence, she'll also incur moving expenses.
Kimmy is 50 years old and suffers from a terminal condition, Huntington's Disease (HD). To learn more about HD: https://hdsa.org/what-is-hd/overview-of-huntingtons-disease/. Amongst other things, HD causes involuntary jerking of her hands and feet, as well as impaired balance. Kim fell in her apartment 2/5/2020, resulting in a serious compound leg fracture. Subsequently, she developed a MRSA infection, requiring multiple debridements. Those procedures removed so much tissue, doctors couldn't close the wound. She needed a "skin flap" procedure from her "good leg." That procedure sourced enough skin and muscle transplants to close the previously infected area. Now the poor girl was left with TWO bad legs. Keep in mind, COVID happened just after her fall. Kim's HD makes her incredibly susceptible to respiratory infections. She inherited HD from her mom, who died of pneumonia (secondary to her own HD). Pneumonia is generally the final terminal condition HD patients succumb to. Hence, we understand why Kim and other nursing home patients needed to be isolated and we're grateful for their daily dedication and care. I'm pleased to hear, Kim's current and upcoming facilities remain COVID free. Hallelujah!
Fast forward FOUR LONG MONTHS of excruciating pain, isolation, and physical therapy... Kimmy's DONE it! She's graduating from the nursing home to an assisted living apartment. Although she loves her current caregivers, she's THRILLED at her upcoming independence..and a little fearful too. But Kimmy's brave! The poor girl had never broken a bone, underwent anesthesia or been admitted to the hospital prior to this fall. In fact, brave doesn't even begin to describe her fierce tenacity. The new facility is a private apartment but has nursing staff on-site to help with daily activities as much or as little as Kim wants. It's licensed for disabled folks age 22-64, so she'll be surrounded by new friends and neighbors her own age. Additionally, the new apartment has in-house physical therapy. This is GREAT, so Kimmy doesn't risk COVID exposure for daily taxi rides to PT over the coming year. We're hopeful this added assistance will allow Kim the independence any 50 year-old would crave, but enough safety to avoid more falls. This girl's been through the wringer!
Kimmy has a heart bigger than anyone I know and she's always been the first to lend a hand to those in need. This includes caring for her mom with the same disease until the day she passed. I hope to do the same for Kimmy. Any assistance you're able to offer her would be greatly appreciated.
Kimmy is 50 years old and suffers from a terminal condition, Huntington's Disease (HD). To learn more about HD: https://hdsa.org/what-is-hd/overview-of-huntingtons-disease/. Amongst other things, HD causes involuntary jerking of her hands and feet, as well as impaired balance. Kim fell in her apartment 2/5/2020, resulting in a serious compound leg fracture. Subsequently, she developed a MRSA infection, requiring multiple debridements. Those procedures removed so much tissue, doctors couldn't close the wound. She needed a "skin flap" procedure from her "good leg." That procedure sourced enough skin and muscle transplants to close the previously infected area. Now the poor girl was left with TWO bad legs. Keep in mind, COVID happened just after her fall. Kim's HD makes her incredibly susceptible to respiratory infections. She inherited HD from her mom, who died of pneumonia (secondary to her own HD). Pneumonia is generally the final terminal condition HD patients succumb to. Hence, we understand why Kim and other nursing home patients needed to be isolated and we're grateful for their daily dedication and care. I'm pleased to hear, Kim's current and upcoming facilities remain COVID free. Hallelujah!
Fast forward FOUR LONG MONTHS of excruciating pain, isolation, and physical therapy... Kimmy's DONE it! She's graduating from the nursing home to an assisted living apartment. Although she loves her current caregivers, she's THRILLED at her upcoming independence..and a little fearful too. But Kimmy's brave! The poor girl had never broken a bone, underwent anesthesia or been admitted to the hospital prior to this fall. In fact, brave doesn't even begin to describe her fierce tenacity. The new facility is a private apartment but has nursing staff on-site to help with daily activities as much or as little as Kim wants. It's licensed for disabled folks age 22-64, so she'll be surrounded by new friends and neighbors her own age. Additionally, the new apartment has in-house physical therapy. This is GREAT, so Kimmy doesn't risk COVID exposure for daily taxi rides to PT over the coming year. We're hopeful this added assistance will allow Kim the independence any 50 year-old would crave, but enough safety to avoid more falls. This girl's been through the wringer!
Kimmy has a heart bigger than anyone I know and she's always been the first to lend a hand to those in need. This includes caring for her mom with the same disease until the day she passed. I hope to do the same for Kimmy. Any assistance you're able to offer her would be greatly appreciated.