Some time has passed, and unfortunately, the time has come again to request communal support to help Mom (Kim) through another challenging time.

To understand where we are, you'll need to understand where we've been. Following the Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in April 2022, our mother went through a significant series of chemotherapy and radiation. This treatment course resulted in irreversible damage to her small intestine and overall digestive system, ultimately resulting in a few bowel resections and colostomy surgery and colostomy revision over the past couple of years (gross oversimplification of events).

For much of 2024 and early 2025, things were looking up. She was able to return to work, eventually returned to full-time patient care, and seemed to be rounding toward "normalcy." That was until July of this year.

On Saturday, 07/19, our mother experienced a severe ischemic event in one of her legs. Upon arriving in the emergency room by ambulance, it was determined that emergency surgery would be required to eliminate a blood clot in the leg, ultimately resulting in a double emergency fem-fem bypass surgery with stents placed on both the left and right sides.

Initially, it looked like we were going to be in a good position as the surgery was successful, blood flow restored, and she was discharged by Tuesday. This positivity was fleeting as she was rushed back to the emergency room a couple of nights later after a series of unexplained falls. Following the falls, there were a few more ER visits, including additional trips to both the local hospital and Mayo, where it has been concluded that the blood clots and subsequent tissue damage are a result of the extensive radiation damage. If you know anything about radiation damage it goes without saying it was at this time our awareness that healing was going to be a major concern.

The return trip to the local hospital is where things took a turn for the worst. While at her follow-up with the locum who performed her bypass, he dug into one of her leg wounds without proper anesthesia or a sterile field, which resulted in massive and significant infection.

This brings us to where we are now. No fewer than 8 surgeries have been performed in an effort to clean out the bone deep infection in hopes of keeping the limb. The final surgery (October 2025) resulted in the placement of a WoundVac followed by the current treatment plan of hyperbaric oxygenation-every day until at least 12/31!

The continuous medical need paired with the inability to work has led to continued financial strain-especially following the cancer battle back in 2022-2023. The ask now is for support should you feel inclined to help cover the outrageous cost of Cobra while things like social security disability and Medicare are perused. Also on the horizon, a Kidney lesion, medically described as " suspected left renal cortical neoplasm," which cannot be addressed until the leg infection and ultimately would are healed.

Mayo continues to be out of network and where Kim is receiving her care from. Due to the complexity of her medical issues, Mayo is a necessity.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading and please support by whatever means you're able. Sharing is always free and you never know who you'll reach.