(Buck Helton has given permission for this post. This is a long post, but if you are friends with Buck, please read it.)) I am posting to ask for prayers for Buck Helton. Behind the scenes in his inspiring transformation, (From Easter of 2013, he has dropped about 130 pounds, almost 95 pounds of it since just this January 1st, from a size 46 waist pants size to 36, and about 20% body fat) he has been dealing with deeply serious health issues. Late last December it became clear to me that Buck was not at all well and in January I offered to coach him in nutrition and fitness. In February I flew to Texas to help him pack up and move from Dallas to Tucson so I could work with him in person and he got to AZ March 1st. This has been literally a life saving move as Buck had said he did not feel he would have made it to the end of 2014 and a couple of doctors and I agree. This year, through the changes hes made and work hes done, he has (officially) left his diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and more behind him, with even the tachycardia he has had since birth improving dramatically. His once debilitating arthritis is 95% gone and he is doing hard work toward correcting massive bone loss caused by the long term morbid obesity and sedentary lifestyle he has had since childhood. He had severe clinical depression and had pretty much given up on life, and except for work and some singing gigs he spent his life in a small apartment going between the bed, couch and chair. Now, Buck has found a reason to live as healthfully and vitally in body, mind and spirit as he possibly can. He is excited about fully living and determined to meet every challenge on his transformational journey with gusto! Thats the great news. However, his long-term bad health has exhibited in ways that have been challenging to heal, including severe arthritis and atrophied muscles which exercise and nutrition are helping with. In particular, when I arrived in February I discovered he had a diabetic ulcer on his right foot that was approximately 18 months old and it was deep into the big toe, with proud flesh that showed signs of gangrene and increasingly worsening instead of healing. From that time until now, Buck has worked as hard as possible with nutrition, treatments with wound care and healing centers, antibiotics and more to heal but although that ulcer has been showing signs of improvement, others have opened and caused further issues. Bucks workouts have been tailored around this and although hes not talked about this, he struggles to walk and continually bleeds through his thick bandaging. Saturday June 14, things took a turn for the worse when the bandaging on his right foot slipped and tightened around the toes. Buck has peripheral neuropathy (loss of feeling) in both feet caused by diabetes and didnt feel it when the bandage continued to tighten. Buck walked on this at work for a 12 hour shift and then slept during the day (he works nights) and the bandage continued to do its harm for almost 20 hours. When he took it off to re-bandage the foot Sunday night, all the toes were purple and black and the big toe looked like a rubber band had been tied around the base. He had a wound healing center appt on Monday morning and it was obvious that besides infection in the left foot, the right foot was deeply damaged. On Tuesday, a blister popped on the pinky toe and on Wednesday the skin through all the layers of dermis came off to the base including the toenail. By Thursday, the toe next to that opened in a deep ulcer. Although Buck no longer has diabetes, his system is compromised and he does not heal well. Yesterday morning, Buck got the news (after having almost 20% of the big toe removed and more work done on his feet) that if he didnt get off his feet and get a full cast on the right foot that he would lose the foot. He has heard from a few people now that they are surprised he didnt already loose at least the toeand possibly the foot, but now it has really sunk in and action is being taken to heal. Here are the challenges Buck is facing. Buck has no insurance, not being able to afford the unsatisfactory insurance through his work, and neither ACCESS or ACA has come through yet. He has no savings and had to take a loan to move to AZ and has been going in deeper debt trying to get settled while looking for a job, and then a better job as the one he landed toward the end of March pays little, the hours are horrible and he has to walk 4-6 hours during an 8 hour shift. Now, he has as of yesterday been put on 30 days leave while his security company tries to find him a light duty position in the company (which they have none of) and then he will be dismissed. There is no disability insurance available. Buck has been submitting 15-30 or more applications a week since early April, and doing interviews almost every week, with no luck. He has tried to find gigs and voice over work with no success either. His father left when he was an infant and his mother is in assisted living so no help from family is available. He is trying SO hard and he is not the kind of man who asks for help. Even in his worst times, he is the one to offer help and you all know him as a kind hearted, altruistic man who does as much as he can for his friends and family. I barely knew Buck before last December, but now he has become a good friend and I know he can make it though this very rough patch with help from his friends. I will continue to coach him and help him financially as much as I can, but I am in a rough place too. I divorced earlier this year and have been trying hard to find a second job to supplement my photography career so I can keep my land and home, but without success so I can only do so much. Ive been liquidating many of my belongings to be able to meet living expenses. Buck needs help to meeting living expenses, buy bandaging and health supplies, get the full cast so he can walk (his doctor has set orders that he cannot walk more than 100 feet per hour for three months and he will not be able to wear a shoe on his right foot the entire time), meet doctor and healing center costs and an MRI to assess if the bone has been compromised. In addition, if there is someone (or a few someones) who can sponsor him with performance clothing (a hat, shirts, jeans, belts, etc.) he could certainly use the help as he has only one performance shirt that fits anymore since he lost all this weight. He wont be able to wear his cowboy boots (or any other shoes) for at least three months on the right foot. Last week, Buck sold his only performance guitar Zebe and now just has a poor knock-a-bout to use for gigs (and he is looking hard for those gigs). He has CDs to sell, but little else. I will be setting up a way for friends to help Buck and if you have ideas please contact me privately at lorifaith@photographybyfaith or through Facebook messaging. If Buck has donated his time for you for gigs, recorded songs and poems for you to use, been there for you when youve been down or helped you in any other way, please do what you can to help him now. He needs you. Buck is not one to ask for help or prayers, yet he does ask for your prayers now. From Buck: Please pray for my health, that I can heal completely so I can be of service and live my destiny as an entertainer. I hope to inspire others with my journey to health. Ive been an example of what not to do and now Im trying to be an example in a better way. I thank everyone who has been encouraging me and Im determined to fix this, heal up and live a healthier, happier life!
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 02:13:19 +0000
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