Kristoffer Needs Your Help Regaining Parts of His Life

Since that day, my whole life has changed. I lost my job, my ability to get around, and my ability to do many things I once loved, including many of the things that a father and husband should do. Then there are the mounting bills… It can be overwhelming sometimes.

But I’m still me… and I’m still here! I’m learning a lot and will hopefully become a better person than I was before all this happened. Woe is NOT me! I am determined not to give up or give in. I just need some help. I’m looking for ways to buy some mobility devices and pay some bills.

I am working with Help Hope Live, a charitable organization that helps raise funds for people like me. By donating to them on my behalf, not only do you help me out, but you get a tax deduction. Help Hope Live manages the monies and ensures fiscal accountability (that the money is only going toward my legitimate medical expenses). If you feel like giving, please, make your tax-deductible donation by clicking on the Give button, just below my profile picture.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live by calling: 800.642.8399.

Thank you for your support!

Here’s My Story

Recently, I was interviewed by a friend of mine for his podcast, Parrish the Thought. Here are two links to those interviews. You can get an audio version of the story below.

Shortly after my surgery:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kris-kristensen-i-complained-and-it-saved-my-life/id1348128086?i=1000508939372

Nine Months into the experience:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kris-kristensen-9-months-with-my-new-leg-and-an-mba-in-life/id1348128086?i=1000542529688

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kris-kristensen-9-months-with-my-new-leg-and-an-mba-in-life/id1348128086?i=1000542529688

In September 2020, what I thought was sciatica produced by herniated spine discs turned out to be something worse. Much worse. I was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer. A gigantic tumor had developed inside my left pelvis and had wrapped around the sciatic nerve (thus the sciatica). By the time the doctors found it, the tumor was 10 cm X 12 cm X 8 cm and had broken through the bone wall and was protruding to the exterior of the pelvis. The tumor was Stage 3 when they found it, just about to go metastatic.

My doctor sent me to one of the most highly trained and specialized osteo-oncologists in the country. She happened to have an office just about an hour away. She gave me the bad news: Chondrosarcoma does NOT respond to chemotherapy or radiotherapy; the only solution is surgery. Once she saw the pictures and knew what kind of cancer it was, she gave me two choices: either 1) conduct hemipelvectomy surgery (the removal of my left-side pelvis, hip, and leg), or 2) don’t do the surgery and wait for the cancer to start spreading (we’d be talking “end-of-life sort of things).

We had to act quickly. She said the tumor could start spreading in 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months, but it is about to go. Once it goes, the cancer will head directly to my lungs, which will ultimately be fatal.

The only real choice was surgery. All those bones, the whole left pelvis and leg would have to go. So, just three weeks later I was in the hospital having the operation.

I went into the hospital one morning, changed my clothes, said good-bye to my leg, and headed in for the surgery. When I woke up, 13 hours later, I became aware that the leg wasn’t there. But heck! What did I care? I was on some pretty powerful stuff and didn’t seem to mind. However, by the time I was sent upstairs to my patient room, I became acutely aware of the loss. Now I was aware. And I was sad.

I was in the hospital for two months recovering from the surgery.

A Turn For The Worse

Fortunately for me, I was sent home just in time for Thanksgiving. I was able to be there to watch (and help) as my family prepared one of the meals I love to cook. I’ll blame it on the painkillers, but I was able to ensure the turkey was completely undercooked!

Just when I had gotten used to the idea that I didn’t have a leg, that’s when things really turned bad. Shortly after Thanksgiving I went into sceptic shock. It was bad. Really bad. I was unconscious, so I don’t remember anything, but my wife and kids know… and they remember.

I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. At first, the ER doctors were convinced I was having a stroke, but my wife knew better. She stood her ground and told them it was not; it was something else. They pushed her hard. She pushed back. It wasn’t until my wife had my orthopedic surgeon on a tele-conference with these doctors that they relented. My surgeon pointed out that the imaging showed the damage was to my large intestine. Apparently, it was dying quickly, leaking infection all throughout my body. If they didn’t do something soon, I was going to die.

I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where I had my previous surgery. I was in the ICU for a couple of days where they tried to pull me out of shock. Nothing worked. Ultimately, these doctors said that the infection was so bad that if they didn’t get the colon out in the next 45 minutes, I would die within the next few hours. Result: Total colectomy. Irony: What a bummer!

I awoke after two weeks, having no idea where I was or what I was doing there. I don’t know how long it took for me to come around, but I finally did. At first, I was mentally slow, but I came around. I could answer the questions from the nurses and finally figured out what was going on: I had a bag attached to my stomach, and my heart fell into my feet, uh, foot.

A couple more weeks in the hospital and I was ready to come home again, just in time for Christmas.

Total time in hospital since the original surgery: About three months.

I was in the hospital so long, had to take so much time off from work that I missed some key milestones for the company I worked for that they had to let me go. That’s right, I lost my job! Just when things went from bad to worse, they got worser. Then worser still: I had to go on COBRA insurance, which of course, costs more than it should.

What The Heck?

Things improved once I got home. But then infection would return and bubble-up to the surface of my skin where I was sutured together. I had to back into the hospital a couple more times to get the wounds surgically flushed out.

Infection. Bloody infection! I went sceptic again and had to go back into the hospital. A couple more weeks recovering and then back home.

Once things settled down, I started working with a prosthetist. He built a fancy artificial leg for me. He had me start using it in his office to start getting used to it. Once the doctors cleared me, I was able to start going to physical therapy where they would really teach me how to walk again.

Physical therapy is hard. But, when I started, I committed to do better than anyone who had ever gone before me. I gave it my all and it quickly started to show. Soon, I was able to walk using my leg and a pair of crutches outside, in the grass, and across and up and down hills.

Just when things were going well, infection would take over again and I would have to go back into the hospital and then wait for my wounds to heal before getting back onto my new leg. It totally slowed down my progress. In fact, I am just coming back from having a wound cleaned out. It has been seven weeks already since they did the surgery. Seven long weeks of no therapy. Seven weeks of not using my new leg. I see the doctor soon and she’ll tell me how much longer before I’m cleared for therapy.

Total time in the hospital now since the original surgery: About four and a half months… and I’m still unemployed (unemployable?) and on COBRA, and I have deductibles and a mortgage. Ouch.

A New Normal

I expect to be back on my leg in a few weeks, perhaps two or three. I’m itching. I can’t wait to get back into the groove of learning to walk. I was on the precipice of not using crutches to walk before my last surgery, but now I have been significantly set back. It is time for me to get back to normal, my new normal.

With Your Help

To get more of my mobility back I need to get a motorized scooter. Then I’ll be able to go places and do things that I currently can’t. Every small donation will go a long way toward helping me afford buying one that I otherwise could never afford.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story. Thanks for your generosity!