Readers have asked how Stacy (Stemper) Malone was getting along since being severely beaten by an intruder who broke into her home last February. The following report is taken from two of her recent social media posts.
I had nasal surgery scheduled for Aug. 2, but when I went in for my pre- op health assessment at the end of July, my lab work was not good. Most of my blood count was low. Because of my iron levels also being very low, I started iron infusions every other day for a week and a half. My doc also started me on Vitron-C which is a daily iron supplement I take every day. My ENT will not allow me to have surgery until my labs are stable. So I am hoping my lab works improves so I can get my surgery done this year yet. Pray for me.
I still continue to have pain in my head, neck and face but the worst of it are the daily migraine headaches. Because of a long waitlist for a neurologist here in Kearney, I was referred to a neurologist at a clinic in Papillion.
My vision still has not returned to normal. They aren’t sure what to expect as far as healing. I have muscle and other tissue that has grown through the blowout fractures to my eye sockets. I cannot have surgery to remove that tissue because of the risk of going through the eye sockets and being in close proximity to my eyes. I hope over time this will get better but we are unsure of what to expect.
They don’t have answers for me right now and they aren’t sure what injury specifically is causing this. What we do know is that this is completely unrelated to my eyes themselves per my eye doctor.
From what I understand from my docs is that it’s likely a side effect from the trauma, artery injury, post concussive syndrome .. etc. They just aren’t sure what.
My vertebral artery has healed, but I still have a (5.5cm) dissection to my carotid artery, which was also injured during the strangulation. A dissection is a separation to the layers of the artery. An artery injury increases the chances of stroke because blood flood can become restricted through the vessel if it is damaged. Because of my blood levels being low, my vascular doctor discontinued my blood thinner (xarelto) and prescribed aspirin to take every day instead. I have a follow up with vascular soon to discuss alternative treatment options.
Some days I feel okay but other days I am extremely tired and don’t have much energy probably because of a combination of things. Thank you all for caring and continuously keeping me and my family in your thoughts and prayers. This still continues to affect us on a very consistent basis but without our faith in God, we would struggle much worse. We really are getting through all of this better than I had ever imagined .. I am okay .. the kids are okay .. we are all okay.
A few days earlier she posted the following information:
I have had a lot of followers since Braelyn or “B” was just a toddler (she will soon be 15 ), so I wanted to give a big group update because she inspires me everyday to do better and be better. I give her a lot of credit for the growth and drive that I have within me.
When she was 8 years old- I made the most difficult decision of my life to move her into her own house - yes, her own, with 1:1 24/7 staffing because I wanted to set her up for success, I wanted her to thrive in an environment where it wasn’t chaos or too over stimulating for her. Since she was 8, we have gone through three agencies for various reasons but the common denominator to all of them was the lack of care they were providing her, thus causing a multitude of health concerns.
Due to her autism and epilepsy- it would have been a greater stressor for her if I were to remove her from the home she was in, so I switched agencies thinking the next one would be better. I was wrong.
I had previously thought about starting my own DD agency, but because I am the biological parent, I cannot have my own child in my services, which I understand completely. Without hesitation, my parents, Scott Stem-per and Chris Stemper, said, “We will do it, we will start an agency and take care of “B”.”
I said okay I will help you with whatever you need. I didn’t know what I was signing myself up for at the time , but after countless hours and hundreds (maybe thousands) of pages of policy and procedure that my mom and I created, they submitted their files to DHHS. The beginning of March, 2024,- mom and dad were approved by the state, received their license, and started taking care of “B”. Let me tell you, “B” has had more growth in the last few months than she has had in the last almost 7 years since being with other agencies.
After Mom and Dad got their agency going, I was sitting here one day and thought, what am I doing? Why don’t I start one too? I have been trying to stay busy since I was injured in February .. so on days when I was feeling well enough, I started putting together my LLC, certificate of organization, letter of intent, application, policies, procedures, etc.. I have sent all of my files to DHHS.
I will soon be able to take care of participants in DD services and advocate for them just as I have for “B”. I will always strive to take care of my participants and their families just as I would my own. My agency is Unity B-Haven Group Home Agency LLC which I named after my sweet Braelyn- the one who inspires me day after day.
I thank my parents for pushing me to be the best that I can be. For all of the help you’ve given me and the kids all of our lives and still to this day. You selflessly make sure we are all taken care of no matter the circumstances. Thank you for taking such good care of “B”and loving her as your own. I will be forever grateful of that. After what happened to me earlier this year, God saved me because he knew my work here isn’t done. Taking care of others is my passion and I am so excited to continue my career in serving others.
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