Big Sister Inspires ND To Give From Their Hearts

This is what caught my eye yesterday...

...a co-worker sent us a Facebook post from Bismarck Break Room here is the first part of it:

"A Helping Hand for Kambree’s Recovery

At Bismarck Break Room, we’re coming together to support Kambree, a 25-year-oldSanfors ER nurse facing a challenging medical journey. After discovering a serious heart condition, Kambree underwent open-heart surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. While her surgery was successful, she now faces a long recovery, and with her financial and medical burdens, she needs our help"

Bismarck Break Room

Well, that caught my immediate attention

I wanted to know more - I continued to read on and found a remarkable story of an older sister going through a scary time. Her name is Ashley Lee - she and her husband, and 4 kids live in Grassy Butte, North Dakota. She was gracious enough to talk with me on the phone this afternoon. Kambree back in September was at Sanford ER here in Bismarck ( where she works ) - on a quick break, she decided to pick up a stethoscope - and started listening in on her own heart. Something didn't sound quite right - here is the amazing thing about this 25-year-old woman - she didn't want to "impose", and didn't want to bother a doctor ( 99.9% of us would have no problem doing so ) - so she "made an appointment" for one week later.

"Heart murmur - Hole in your heart"

That was the layman's terms for what the doctor diagnosed. After a failed procedure to correct her condition - with huge encouragement and love from Ashley, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota was the sight where a 5-hour surgery was performed on November 6th -

gofundme

Kambree is recovering now, for the next 8 weeks or so - Soon no doubt you will see her big smile at work again. Her big sister has inspired us all to do what we can to help out with medical expenses and living costs. There is a gofundme page set up - anything you can do would be so appreciated - click on the link below:

https://gofund.me/1e7a2650

Ashley Lee

I can somewhat relate to this story, only that I have a younger sister that I love and am proud of - and she watches over me from miles apart ( she lives outside of Boston )

I asked Ashley if she would take a couple of minutes and write down some thoughts about her sister, and her thoughts about people who care:

"Being born the oldest sibling comes with an unwritten list of responsibilities. You’re the protector, mediator, and advice giver. Mostly because you experience all the hard obstacles first and are better able to teach your siblings what “Not” to do. However, my sister was recently diagnosed with a medical condition that I, unfortunately, wasn’t able to protect her from. During this whole process, it’s weighed heavy on my heart and many times wished I could heal her or take this from her. I had to continue to remind myself that i am not in control, that God is. He has the ability to heal and that all I could do was pray and be by her side, listen and be a shoulder to lean on, and share her story to hopefully help relieve some financial responsibilities and gain some more prayer warriors along the way.

I remember the day of her surgery, right before they were going to wheel her into the surgery room, they told us to wish her well and go wait in family waiting room for her procedure to be finished. I remember trying to say “see you later’ without the tears running down my face and praying that wasn’t going to be the last time I seen my sister alive and well. I thought I had put on a convincing Brave face until she told me later that she seen me break down as soon as I turned the corner.

I know people wonder why I talk so much about my feelings through this whole situation when it wasn’t MY heart that was being operated on or MY diagnosis. But the truth is, my LITTLE sister is stronger than me. She always has been. And i couldn’t imagine my life without her love, support, and the way she has always made me feel like everything was going to be okay. All these qualities are also what makes her an amazing ER nurse that makes everyone, even patients in emergency situations, feel safe and that they will be okay. And she just HAD to pull through and get better because she makes a difference in this world and it would be so much less great without her in it.

The greatest part of this whole story is that she did! She pulled through the Open Heart Surgery where they sewed a patch on to an almost 4 cm hole in her heart. You don’t have to be a nurse to know that’s a BIG hole, one of the biggest the Mayo heart surgeon has seen. This hasn’t been without any set backs and struggles, but in the grand scheme of things, she’s doing great. She’s overcame 100% of her obstacles this far, which included a small stroke a few days after her surgery which has affect her left hand. Which she knew she was having and decided to teach my mom how to do a Stroke test on her before calling a nurse in. (My mother has no medical background by the way but this is just another testiment on how self sufficient and tough she really is.) When I had expressed concern about her stroke diagnosis, she had told me “Ashley, it’s fine, there are worst things than a stroke.”!! See what I mean? Tough. It’s the story how my sister, saved herself and it’s my favorite story to share and i believe there is something we can all learn from my “Little” sister. We’ve all survived 100% of our worst days and there are always worse situations/diagnoses out there and the only way to get better, is to go THROUGH it and come out on the other side, stronger… and maybe a little wiser.

I would also like to express how amazing and selfless Kambree’s Community has been. They have loved and supported her, whether through prayer, financially, or a shoulder to lean on. Even complete strangers just being touched by the story or knowing her personally. I wish I could personally thank everyone and give them all a hug because it really means more to us, especially Kams, because even the toughest of us, need help sometimes"

Real thoughts...Real Love...Thank you, Ashley.