Please Help Katie Recover from Life Threatening Infection

Well, part one is done. Being told you're having emergency (life-saving) surgery is never fun or easy..

I didn't realize that the entire total knee replacement had to be removed when that horrible infection was discovered, literally filling my leg with pus, almost all the way down to my ankle. So, I currently "don't have a knee", just an Antibiotic-Loaded Spacer: A temporary spacer, often made of antibiotic-impregnated plastic, is placed in the knee to maintain space and deliver antibiotics locally. I'm not able to bear ANY weight and am bed bound.

And as soon as I heal up from all this, I get to have ANOTHER major surgery when they put a whole brand new total knee replacement back in along with two metal rods- one in my tibia and one in my femur. Yay.

Like I haven't had enough major surgery to last me my lifetime already!

Here's what happened to me from the beginning:

I went to the emergency room at Ridgeview Medical Center on Friday, December 13th for severe pain in my left knee after I did a classic “plant and twist” at home on Tuesday, December 10th. I’ve never called paramedics for myself ever before, but I couldn’t tolerate the pain anymore and knew after three days of bed rest, ice/heat, elevating, etc. with no improvement at all, that I really needed to be seen. The hospital took x-rays and said they didn’t see any broken bones, but that with the swelling and how warm the joint was to the touch, that there was definitely “something very wrong” and that I should follow up with my surgeon. So I scheduled an appointment at Summit Orthopedics for Wednesday, December 18th- they said they had nothing sooner. I kept my appointment and was on time. I met a very nice Physician’s Assistant named Matthew, He took my history and events of what had brought me in and did an exam, which included some extremely painful palpating and concluded our visit by saying Dr. Baer would be in to see me shortly. Please remember I have an extensive surgical history on both my knees, so I’m quite familiar with pain and PAIN, this was VERY PAINFUL. When Dr. Baer came in he seemed a little rushed and basically reiterated some of the history that Matt had taken. I asked if it would be a good idea to get an MRI, he seemed to think so and ordered them (left knee and left tib/fib). Matt said that someone from Summit would call me with results “the same day” they got them, he actually promised me. I had my MRIs on Thursday, December 26th at Rayus Radiology very late in the evening, the images and both written reports were in my chart and visible to me around 5am the following morning, so I waited to hear from Summit. Nobody contacted me for the next five days. On Monday December 30th, after TWENTY days of bed rest, I called Summit to see what was going on and several hours later Matt finally called me back and said that there wasn’t anything seen on the MRIs and that I should continue rest, ice/heat, elevating at home for two more weeks and to call back then if things hadn’t improved. Well, good thing that I’m as medically sound as I am because I went right back to the hospital, where I saw a wonderful doctor, Dr. Ralles, who upon further imaging and more thorough examining, also agreed that there was “something very wrong”, so he sent me to the emergency room at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee (because he knew I would require an orthopedic team in house). I arrived at St. Francis emergency room a day and a half later on Friday, January 3rd and had emergency knee surgery bright and early first thing in the morning on Saturday January 4th.

*I was just wondering- being SO painful, swollen, warm to the touch and with me feeling very ill, if it would have been a good idea for me to go back to bed for a couple MORE weeks (on Monday the 30th)? What do you think would have happened to someone who didn’t know any better and actually went back to bed?

Yes, sepsis is fatal. I was just a few hours away!

I'm home now, with a PICC line in my upper arm where I give myself I.V. antibiotics every morning. Hopefully I'll start to feel a little better soon.

But in the meantime, between all the medical issues I was having before this, my soccer ball sized hernia, all the metal in my spine, the 35 pieces of metal that's holding my neck together, the trips to the Mayo Clinic, etc. I'm fighting a losing financial battle. I'm trying to live on about $1,000 a month on total permanent disability and with lot rent going up on my trailer- it's $700/month now, my phone bill, utilities, groceries, prescriptions, all my new (and old) medical needs- just the in home Visiting Angels is $360/month (cash money), and I need more than what I've listed here, including adult diapers because I'm unable to get to the bathroom (without a knee), liquid laundry soap for all the bedding and clothing I'm soiling, and MORE!

I DESPERATELY need some help.

I really do.

I wish prayers paid the bills.

If you care, you'll donate.

You know I'd do it for you..