Ken Rawlinson's Amputation Fund
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In August of 2017, after dealing with some foot and leg pain that became increasingly severe over several months, I finally ended up in the emergency room and learned that I had an aneurysm behind my right knee that was allowing blood clots to form and travel to all three major arteries in my lower leg.
The doctors explained that the pain I felt while walking or jogging was from a lack of oxygen from the drastically decreased blood flow caused by all the clots in my leg. I spent two and a half weeks in the hospital as surgeons tried multiple times to open the clogged arteries with limited success. After several trips to the cath lab, my right leg became so swollen that I had to have an emergency double fasciotomy, a very painful surgery that took months to recover from. Things started getting better for a little while; however in November I started feeling increased pain in my leg again and I ended up back in the hospital for another round of surgery. I found out that the blood flow to all of the main arteries in my leg had shut down again and the surgeons were not hopeful that they would be able to restore blood flow to my lower leg or foot. The next several months were very painful both physically and emotionally as I started to deal with what my doctor kept referring to as my “new normal.”
As an active 36 year old who has spent the last 12 years in the fire service as a fire and arson investigator and public education coordinator, I hated being sidelined by an injury that just kept getting worse. It was bad enough not being able to pull my weight around a bunch of firefighters at work, but even the simple things that most people take for granted, like standing for long periods of time, or driving in stop and go traffic became increasingly difficult and painful for me.
Last week, after almost a full year of chronic pain and countless sleepless nights, I ended up following the advice of my vascular surgeon and having a below-the-knee amputation of my right leg. He was concerned that if I put off the surgery much longer and my leg got any worse, that it may not be able to heal from a below-the-knee amputation and I could end up needing an above-the-knee amputation.
I’m back home from my third trip to the hospital in the last 12 months, healing from a below-the-knee amputation of my right leg. I know this was the right course of action to achieve the best quality of life for me in the future, but I also know that this is going to be a drastic and expensive life change for my family and I to deal with for the rest of my life. We know that prosthetic devices can run tens of thousands of dollars, and in addition to medical costs and the cost of future prosthetic devices, there are also modifications we need to make to our home and our vehicle in order for me to get around without my right leg.
As hard as it is looking to outsiders for financial help, we have already spent thousands and thousands of dollars on multiple surgeries and hospital stays, rehab, wound care, medical equipment, and other costs directly associated to my leg over the last year. We have been urged by friends to put our cause out there and see if others are willing to help so that we can focus on healing and getting used to life as an amputee. I set the goal of $15,000, because that is the amount we anticipate needing in the next few months, however we know that the total will be much higher over the the next couple of years, especially if we try to get the best prosthetic devices I'll need to continue living the active lifestyle I want to return to. Any extra funds we receive will go towards these future expenses that we know are on the horizon. I have faith that all of our needs will be met and that God will use this period of my life to grow my trust in Him when we don't see a way to make things work on our own. I also see Him using my amputation as a platform to reach out and encourage others going through the same thing. Thanks in advance for any financial help you can offer our family. I will be updating this page as we learn more over the next several weeks.
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The doctors explained that the pain I felt while walking or jogging was from a lack of oxygen from the drastically decreased blood flow caused by all the clots in my leg. I spent two and a half weeks in the hospital as surgeons tried multiple times to open the clogged arteries with limited success. After several trips to the cath lab, my right leg became so swollen that I had to have an emergency double fasciotomy, a very painful surgery that took months to recover from. Things started getting better for a little while; however in November I started feeling increased pain in my leg again and I ended up back in the hospital for another round of surgery. I found out that the blood flow to all of the main arteries in my leg had shut down again and the surgeons were not hopeful that they would be able to restore blood flow to my lower leg or foot. The next several months were very painful both physically and emotionally as I started to deal with what my doctor kept referring to as my “new normal.”
As an active 36 year old who has spent the last 12 years in the fire service as a fire and arson investigator and public education coordinator, I hated being sidelined by an injury that just kept getting worse. It was bad enough not being able to pull my weight around a bunch of firefighters at work, but even the simple things that most people take for granted, like standing for long periods of time, or driving in stop and go traffic became increasingly difficult and painful for me.
Last week, after almost a full year of chronic pain and countless sleepless nights, I ended up following the advice of my vascular surgeon and having a below-the-knee amputation of my right leg. He was concerned that if I put off the surgery much longer and my leg got any worse, that it may not be able to heal from a below-the-knee amputation and I could end up needing an above-the-knee amputation.
I’m back home from my third trip to the hospital in the last 12 months, healing from a below-the-knee amputation of my right leg. I know this was the right course of action to achieve the best quality of life for me in the future, but I also know that this is going to be a drastic and expensive life change for my family and I to deal with for the rest of my life. We know that prosthetic devices can run tens of thousands of dollars, and in addition to medical costs and the cost of future prosthetic devices, there are also modifications we need to make to our home and our vehicle in order for me to get around without my right leg.
As hard as it is looking to outsiders for financial help, we have already spent thousands and thousands of dollars on multiple surgeries and hospital stays, rehab, wound care, medical equipment, and other costs directly associated to my leg over the last year. We have been urged by friends to put our cause out there and see if others are willing to help so that we can focus on healing and getting used to life as an amputee. I set the goal of $15,000, because that is the amount we anticipate needing in the next few months, however we know that the total will be much higher over the the next couple of years, especially if we try to get the best prosthetic devices I'll need to continue living the active lifestyle I want to return to. Any extra funds we receive will go towards these future expenses that we know are on the horizon. I have faith that all of our needs will be met and that God will use this period of my life to grow my trust in Him when we don't see a way to make things work on our own. I also see Him using my amputation as a platform to reach out and encourage others going through the same thing. Thanks in advance for any financial help you can offer our family. I will be updating this page as we learn more over the next several weeks.
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Organizer
Ken Rawlinson
Organizer
Keller, TX
