The biggest news from my neck of the woods deals with one of my participants, Herma. If you remember from an earlier post, she is my participant whose home we knocked down to make room for a newly refurbished mobile home.
We moved Hermie into her new home on December 11th, just in time to get settled for Christmas. She was so proud of her small Christmas tree given to her by one of our short-term volunteers. It would be her first Christmas ever where she didn't have to haul in coal from outside to put in her smoky coal stove. As I left Kentucky for Christmas vacation I felt like we had really accomplished something awesome for Hermie. Not only did she have a new home and new furnishings, but a new hair-cut and pair of glasses. She looked like a new woman getting ready to begin a whole new chapter in her life.
After a fun and busy two weeks at home I arrived back in Kentucky to learn that Hermie had gone to the emergency room at McDowell on Christmas Eve complaining with foot pain. They sent her to the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington where the doctors discovered she had a blood clot in her left leg. Rather than spending Christmas day in her new home, she spent it in a hospital bed. She spent four days there before they released her. Back at home she began experiencing an increased amount of pain, discomfort, and swelling in her left foot. It got to the point where she could not walk on it and had to use a wheelchair. The clot was too severe and the veins to damaged to perform a bypass, therefore she had to face the hard decision of having an amputation.
This morning, back in Lexington, Hermie bravely faced the amputation of her left leg from below her knee. I have talked with her family and she came through surgery just fine. She'll spend a few more days in the hospital before moving to a rehab facility in Lexington. Within a matter of weeks she'll be fitted for a prosthesis.
It's easy to get discouraged and disappointed that Hermie has faced so much hardship in the recent weeks and hasn't had the chance to enjoy her new home. However, I have to remind myself that she will at least have a warm, clean, and spacious home to return to. It's hard for me to imagine that Hermie would have been able to return to her old home after having her amputation. Mike, the crew leader that worked on refurbishing Hermie's trailer made sure to build a wheelchair ramp - just in case there should never be a need for it. We never knew how immediate that need would be.
I've attached some pictures of Hermie's new trailer. Pray with me that her
recovery would go well and that she'd be back home soon.Love and prayers....
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