I’ve known this saying my entire life but never fully understood the true meaning, that is until a few months ago. The momentum of my life and the direction I was heading in was aligning with my goals in life. That was until a small blister on the side of my foot got infected and changed everything . I Immediately Thought back on two years ago when the same thing happened on my other foot. The outcome from that blister changed my life and was thinking, “why me, why again”. I had a very strong support system then and I  know I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for them. 

This time though, the results of the infected blister was much worse, not only because of the location but because two infections were working against me. One on the foot and the other in my blood stream. My prognosis was that I would need to have my leg amputated below my knee in order to save my life and my leg. That is what I/we had to come to terms with because that is what was the best outcome as told by my doctor.   The procedure was scheduled for the following morning. The doctor needed to consult with the vascular surgeon, the one who would be performing the amputation on my case and my condition. Once he looked at my results, images and information, he stopped the surgery. He asked for additional tests to gather more information before moving forward with the amputation. The next morning instead of having surgery, the additional tests were performed. Results came back later that afternoon. The vascular surgeon did not want to do the amputation because he felt  with these additional tests my foot could be salvaged and repaired. It would take a long time and it would be an uphill battle but I would be able to keep my foot. This new Information gave me hope. With this new information from a second doctor,  who believed my foot could be saved without amputation, I, with long discussions with my family, and having faith in GOD, I opted to have surgery to clean out the infected area and work to save my foot. I truly believe GOD’s work on me was happening. I went into surgery to remove all of the infected skin and tissue in and around my foot. I would eventually have 4 surgeries to remove all infected areas, both inside and out, and have a skin graf placed on the large open wound. 

After being in the hospital almost one month (29 days), I am now home. Being home does not come with it’s own set of struggles and demands of daily care, antibiotics treatments, wound care/wound vac care doctor appointments and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

My road to recovery will be long, hard and difficult, not only for me but for my amazing parents who are my superheroes, my angels on earth. I am so very blessed, blessed beyond measure to have them in my corner. I love the both of you so very much. I rely on them for almost everything we take for granite in life. The little things we don’t blink an eye to. Some of the smallest things we do daily without thinking about, is a daily task for me but my parents are there, everyday. I love you mom & dad. 

 

My blessings have been abundant. My daughter, Camila, who helped in so many ways, securing my outpatient therapy to phone calls to doctors and nurses. I love you so much baby. Thank you so much. To my sister Adela Valdez and my brother, Javier Contreras have been amazing. Their support and efforts to keep everyone apprised of my journey, helping me in so many ways is overwhelming. I love you both so very much. Lisa and Albert, you have been there through all of this. I love you two. I’m so grateful for the both of you.

To all my family and friends who said prayers for me and wished for my recovery, I wish that I could personally thank you and hug you for all your kind words. There were so so many who offered prayers. I’m so humbled. I love each and every one of you. To my industry family, thank you for your support, your help and your donations. A special thank you to the Kona Grill in Plano team for your support as well. It is a blessing to have such great people in my corner.

To all those who opened your hearts and donated to the GoFundMe site, I’m truly indebted to each and every one of you for your generosity. You have no idea how much your donation have helped in offsetting the cost of my recovery. I had to list everyone who donated over the past 6 weeks below. To those who donated below and anonymously, may GOD bless you with abundance. I cannot thank you enough. I also listed those who donated directly. Each one of you are a blessing and I truly thank you. I included the link so you can see how extremely generous every single person has been. I look forward to seeing you down the road. We can all go for a walk. Blessings

You are my village. I love you all.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/jorge-contreras-medical-bill-assistance?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_lico%2Bupdate&fbclid=IwAR2XrLjACxJkB8pWURrvw94e2LqzPVDj3aJFzUEwH3srWL23n4kj3Fh81o4

GoFundMe Donations

Marcus Robertson

Anonymous

Brittany Whitcomb

Christopher Hayden

Craig Stephens

Mason Sanford

Ivy Perez

Anonymous

Phyllis Cobb

Margaret Rapier

Clifford & Wynema Brogdon

Joel Morris

Catherine Wesner

Anonymous

Gloria Garcia

Anonymous

Mario Bryant

Vianka Sánchez 

Anonymous

Anonymous

Jennifer Parker 

Anonymous

Andrew Morgan

Anonymous

Maria Contreras

Mac Magalindan

Jefferey Powell

Jessica Ortiz

Anonymous

Kim Hernandez

April Prentice

Todd Bowman

Devin Drieslien

Frances Contreras 

Alicia Castillo

Rafaela López 

Dan & Allison Rians

Larry Green

Anonymous

Anonymous

Anonymous

Donald & Wendy Norman

Michelle Mannon

Suzanne Ratcliff

Anonymous

Alexa Uribe

Danielle Winkler

Joshua Boudreaux 

Steven & Vicki Sohn

Brianna Rians

AngelnContreras

Julie Mena

Michael Carroll

Crystal Gray

Jennifer Schoppe

Tina Gilcrease

Margaret Hernandez

Isaac & Denise Long

Carolina Contreras

Anonymous

Anonymous

Judith & Steve Saenz

JosieMarquez

Candy Bonilla

Nelda Contreras

Edward Cardenas

Kimberly Cabot

Mary Gomez

Miguel & Lucy Medina

Sohnya Cope

Misti Tappe

Norma Shivers

Anna Leal

Kristian Saenz

Wendy Coles

Joshua Bordeaux

Direct donations

Cary, Alfredo Valdez & family

Mona Lopez 

Maria de Jesus Martinez

Illiana Lopez

Terry McKeen

Marcella Vallejo

Dina Scott