Donate to Ken Sanders’ Medical Recovery
Story
Ken Sanders is a man whose laugh is too big for any room to contain. He is a person who values his friendships and treats his friends like family. I can say this from personal experience since I’ve been friends with him for the last 38 years. Over the years, I’ve spent many hours in the Sanders home either sharing a meal, reading a play with a group of friends, or celebrating New Year’s at one of Ken’s many New Year’s Eve parties. I have never left their home feeling less than cared for, fed, and happy.
Ken now finds himself in a situation where we could all find ourselves after missing one or two paychecks. On April 14, after several days of not feeling well with difficulty breathing, Ken passed out in his bathroom. When he regained consciousness, he was able to get to his phone and contact his mother, Ann Marie. Ann Marie, with the help of the super, got into Ken’s apartment and was able to call 911 and get Ken into an ambulance.
When getting to the hospital, Ken was admitted to the ICU and intubated for three days. His stay in the ICU was for 10 days, where he was in and out of consciousness the whole time. Ann Marie stood by him, advocating for him and helping with any medical decisions that needed to be made. During this time in the hospital, Ken was diagnosed with pneumonia, which created a large liver abscess. This required a drain to be inserted. When moved to a regular room, he was immediately rushed into dialysis because his kidneys had begun to fail. During his stay in the hospital, Ken and Ann Marie had to fight in order to have a procedure to have a port put in, with medical professionals not listening to them and their desires to have this done. They literally had to scream like Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment.
In the second week of May, Ken was moved to a rehab skilled nursing facility where he is receiving physical therapy and follow-up treatments to help him with the myriad of health problems that he has accrued because of this pneumonia, the healing liver abscess, his continued kidney failure, and a bacterial infection on his skin. In this facility, he has found out through his physical therapist that he also has a blood clot in his body that they are concerned about. This has left Ken in a position where he’s feeling really hopeless. He has gotten misinformation the entire time that he has been within the hospital, with different doctors each time meeting a new doctor having a different prognosis and different treatment plan.
Looking ahead, Ken has months and months of treatments coming up in order to help him get back to his normal healthy self. A type two diabetic, Ken has been managing his condition through diet and exercise. He has always been a healthy human being, and for this to come out of nowhere has really just turned his whole world around.
Ken has always been a hard-working human being. For the last 35 years, he has worked for several people as an executive administrative assistant. He has always been financially responsible, saving for a rainy day. Well, a monsoon has hit his life. For the last year Ken has been unemployed, due to a large national layoff. To his credit, he has been trying to find employment anywhere that he can. He has gone through rounds and rounds of interviews, being strung along with the possibility of a job only to have it taken away from him. He has used his savings during this time in order to keep himself afloat, so having this type of medical emergency literally come out of nowhere has left him in a position where he needs to ask for help.
What we are asking for is any financial help that you are comfortable giving. The next year is crucial in being able to get Ken back on his feet. Please give whatever you feel comfortable. Please do not look at the larger number as something that is daunting that you couldn’t possibly help with. If we can get 1000 people to donate 57, we will have met our goal. Please forward this on through social media. We all have tons of friends on Facebook and Instagram. Any social media with the exception of LinkedIn. Anyone is welcome to help. We would love to exceed our goal in order to make sure that Ken is safe, housed, and cared for for the next year. Please give whatever you can. If you have ever been a person who has entered Ken’s home and shared a meal with him and his mother while doing a play reading or rehearsing for one of the many plays that he produced, you know what a warm and welcoming family Ken comes from. There’s never been a time I left his home feeling uncared for. I’ve spent many hours laughing at their dinner table, sitting in their living room, and spending time with them. Please consider helping in any way you can. Feel free to repost this on your social media, our only stipulation is that we not share this on LinkedIn, but anywhere that will improve our chance of helping Ken is welcomed.
Organizers :
Laura Bopp is organizing this fundraiser.