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Kim's Sepsis Recovery Fund

Sepsis is a silent killer that few people know about.  Every 3-4 seconds someone dies of sepsis.  Kim was NOT one of them.  This is her story.  Last summer, the unimaginable happened.  We almost lost our Mom, our Mimi, our best friend, our confidant, our rock, our support, and the heart and soul of our family.  With the exception of the occasional cold or allergies, Mom has always been healthy.  She was happily enjoying the weekend with her grandkids one day and was being admitted to ICU four days later.  She was in septic shock, and her blood pressure was so low the doctors and nurses were surprised she was conscious.  They thought it was a kidney infection, but it was much worse than anyone thought.  After many tests, she was finally diagnosed with acute bacterial endocarditis – a staph infection in her heart.  Because the infection was in her heart, every time it beat, it threw parts of the infection throughout her body.  She had embolisms in her brain, lungs and all her extremities.  The sepsis, or blood poisoning, was causing her internal organs to shut down, and she suffered massive swelling, blood clots in her lungs and bleeding in her brain.  She had to have oxygen to breathe.  They put her on the strongest antibiotics to combat the infection, but she had an allergic reaction that caused hearing loss. They found a different antibiotic they hoped would work for the staph, but she contracted a stomach infection that put her in isolation and caused even more pain, and she had to have even more antibiotics to treat that. 

Through it all, Mom remained in high spirits, fighting each obstacle as it came.  She could barely sit up, but she never complained and always had a smile.  She amazed caregivers, and in her true fashion, made friends with all the staff.  They continued to monitor her heart and the terrible toll the infection took on her body.  They soon realized that she was going to have to undergo open heart surgery to replace the aortic valve and repair the mitral valve, both severely damaged by the infection.  Before she could even have the surgery, though, she had to get strong enough to survive it. It was 6-1/2 weeks before they could even think about scheduling the surgery, but it finally got to the point that surgery was imperative.  The doctors prepared us for the worst . . . They thought she would probably, at the very least, be on a breathing machine after the surgery, and there was a very real possibility that our Mom would not live through the surgery at all. 

This remarkable woman would have none of that, though.  With a 25% chance of surviving the surgery, she came through it with flying colors (We swear the surgeon did a little dance as he left the room after his first post-surgery visit), and we were able to take her home after only a couple of weeks.  She still had the stomach infection and intravenous antibiotics for the staph – and, of course, had to heal from the surgery and go through cardiac rehab – but we had our miracle. 

Then another reality hit.  As the bills from the two hospitals and more than 22 different providers started piling in, we realized the initial bills amounted to over $900,000.  We went to work contacting the hospitals, doctors and all the providers to see if they would work with us.  Through various hospital charities and goodwill, and help from friends and coworkers, we’ve been able to reduce her medical bills significantly, but she still owes what is, for her, a huge amount, with no savings or resources to help. 

Our precious Mom has devoted her life to her family and friends.  She is a single mom who raised 3 daughters by herself, did whatever she had to do to support her family, and even left a dream job and moved homes to care for her mom and dad through terminal illnesses and her grandmother in the last years of her life.  Mama never asked for anything. She’s always been the one we all turned to when we needed help, a shoulder to cry on, inspiration or some good advice.  Now she needs our help.  She would never ask, so on her behalf, we’re asking anyone who has been touched by her amazing spirit and her amazing story to pitch in whatever you can so we can take this financial stress off of her and keep her focused on recovery, her family, her work, and living her miracle.

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Donations 

  • Jeremy Wilson
    • $50 
    • 8 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Brooke Pederson
Organizer
Cedar Park, TX
Kimberly Pederson
Beneficiary

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