Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated about Peggy Connett in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
---Press the JOURNAL icon above to get current news (or to peruse older news).
---There is a MealTrain site for Peggy at
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/q4lld8 This isn't only for meals--Peggy can also use help around the house/yard, help with walking, and help with rides.
---There is a GoFundMe page for Peggy:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-peggy-connett==================================================
On about March 21 or so, 2020, a few days after returning from a long overseas flight, Peggy collapsed in her home, where she lives alone. People became worried when she didn't show up for activities and her supervisor called the Cedar Hill police on March 25. She was taken to the hospital, unconscious, for evaluation. She had had a deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in her lower right leg) and the blood clot had broken off and lodged in her lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, which probably caused the collapse.
Her three sisters who live in other states were very involved in her care from afar, but it was the beginning of the covid scare, and local friends were not able to visit her in the hospital. Her only "live" company for the 4 months of hospitalization was medical staff: the wonderful doctors, nurses and aides.
Her right leg needed to be amputated on March 31. Because she had fallen in a crouched position cutting off blood flow to both legs, her left leg was also at risk. Peggy came out of her coma about April 10. From then on it was a series of additional operations to attempt to save her left leg and to make sure what remained of her right leg did not contain dead tissue. Her left leg was amputated on May 1--and for both legs, it was above the knee. She had unexplained wounds on her check and the back of her neck that took months to heal. She also had Bell's Palsy, which is a (usually) temporary paralysis; for Peggy, it affected the left side of her face.
From the first hospital in South Dallas, Peggy was transferred to a second hospital in Mansfield. Here she received wound care and physical therapy and worked to regain her strength.
Peggy's sister Marie worked from Washington state on Peggy's taxes and interminable interactions with the insurance and managing sick leave and disability applications.
Her other two sisters, Rose and Barbie, visited during the period she was in Mansfield to begin preparations for adapting her house. They also organized a car parade, inviting all local friends to parade through the facility's covered driveway. Peggy sat in the window of the room that faced the driveway as the cars--83 of them--passed by slowly and waved. It was such an outpouring of love and a great encouragement. For a few days near the end of her stay there, covid restrictions were relaxed and she got to visit with friends face to face, one per day for about five days.
Peggy was transferred to a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Euless, where, even though she did not have covid, she spent most of her time in her room in quarantine because of the facility's regulations about covid. She did physical therapy and continued to improve.
Rose and Barbie made another trip to DFW and organized a massive effort with many, many friends, neighbors, volunteers and professionals involved to re-do Peggy's house (53!). All carpet was replaced with laminate flooring. Most doorways were removed and widened. The bathroom had the largest makeover--the tub was re placed with a "zero entry" shower, the sink cabinet was removed so she could reach the sink from her wheelchair. A ramp was built to the front door, including a sidewalk to the back yard. Appliances were removed to make room for wheelchair-friendly versions. If you look into the Journal history, you can see pictures and videos of this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKW-DZiLcMw&t=18sAs the days of hospitalization ticked by, no one realized that she was coming to the end of her insurance benefits. On Tuesday, July 28, she was told that her benefits were up THAT DAY, and she needed to leave the facility in Euless THAT DAY. She appealed. They denied it. There had been a plan for her to go to an intensive in-patient rehab to really focus on getting a lot stronger and to learn necessary life skills. The insurance denied that. Peggy suddenly needed to go home with many skills unlearned and some things not quite prepared at the house. Peggy did self-pay for a few days while things came together.
Peggy arrived home on July 31, 2020. Wonderful friends helped her get settled and different ones stayed overnight for the first week. After this, many friends came on many days to bring meals, do housework, make adjustments in the house, help her to get to doctor appointments, and re-set-up the house after the renovation.
By being forced, like a baby bird, "out of the nest," she learned a lot of life skills quickly. The insurance cutoff was a blessing in disguise. She has had home health along the way, and she is in the process of getting prosthetic legs. The starting place is "stubbies" that don't have a knee joint. After mastering these, and hopefully with the cooperation of the insurance company, she will get full legs. This will be another steep learning curve.
In late December, she restarted her work at Biblica. For this job, she was already working from home. She does technical translation editing for Bibles about to be printed, like Igbo, Ukranian, Indonesian, etc.
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When one person heard the story you've just read, he said, "You should have died!" That is actually true! 3-4+ days alone in the house, unconscious, with blood clots in her lungs, necrosis in her legs, and kidney failure looming--she should have died. BUT GOD. God has a purpose for her life. His grace and care are so evident in this whole story.
Your prayers and personal encouragements through signs of love like emails or practical help are always appreciated.
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Dec 2023 update
Peggy has worked to learn to walk with "stubbies"--short prosthetics that have no knee joint--for over two years. In May-June 2023, walking became a lot more painful. She had an MRI which showed a neuroma, a "bundle of nerves" at the tip of her right leg. After trying different solutions, surgery was scheduled for Dec 6. After the surgery, because of the surgery (reaction to anesthesia and pain meds), she developed a bowel obstruction. Her path to recovery meant more hospitalization than at first predicted. She continues to recover, with the hopes of more pain-free walking in the future.
