An upcoming fundraiser at a gym in Midlothian this Saturday will offer fitness classes, with all proceeds going to a local woman who lost her hands and feet due to a post-surgical complication.
On July 29 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Main Street Gym — a family-owned and operated fitness center — volunteer instructors will be on-site to run gymgoers through their paces. But this time, the class fees will go to Wyndi Adkins.
Adkins underwent elective nerve decompression surgery in 2019 to alleviate her chronic migraines. When she developed a strep infection in one of her sutures, she went septic, forcing doctors to put her into a medically induced coma.
According to Adkins’ GoFundMe page, her family was told she had just a 5% chance of survival.
She did survive, but the tissues of her hands and feet died due to the lack of blood reaching them as her body fought the infection.
Doctors performed a quadruple amputation, forever changing Adkins’ life.
“I just want to feel normal again,” the 44-year-old resident of Blooming Grove told WFAA.
To help pay for the bionic prosthetics her insurance won’t cover, the GoFundMe campaign was organized for her. The response from the community has been enormous, with over $73,000 raised of the $130,000 goal.
Adkins’ story struck a chord with Alexandra Allred, a fitness instructor and adjunct professor at Tarleton State University.
“For about three or four days, I couldn’t stop thinking about her,” Allred told WFAA, adding that she was captivated by Adkins’ resilience.
Feeling compelled to do something, Allred invited Adkins to Main Street Gym in order to help her build strength.
But Allred didn’t want to stop there. She organized the fundraiser at the gym to help Adkins out financially as well.
“She’s going to get back what she so rightly deserves,” Allred told WFAA. “And it’s going to be because she knows that people cared enough to give her that life. And that’s us. That’s Texas. We’re gonna do it.”
Deeply moved by the outpouring of support, Adkins is optimistic as well.
“They have no idea how much this means to me. I am truly honored,” Adkins told WFAA. “I’m part of the way and I believe that we will make it the rest of the way, without a doubt.”
A Texas man recently lost both of his arms and parts of his feet after he was struck by another kind of infection.
As reported in The Dallas Express, 35-year-old Michael Kohlhof from Houston almost lost his life when he contracted a form of typhus from a fleabite on his hand in June. He went into septic shock, and blood flow to his extremities was lost as he fought the infection.
The GoFundMe page to help Kohlhof cover medical costs has raised just shy of $100,000 toward its $300,000 goal.
