Angels on Earth

BY BRIANNA STEPHENS

Ireally didn’t know if I was going to live or die,” Kimberly Baxter remembered about the November morning when she unexpectedly became ill. She was at home alone at the time when her blood pressure dropped dangerously low and she began going in and out of consciousness.

At the same time, her home in Floyd County, Kentucky, was undergoing a list of repairs by Christian AppalachianProject’s(CAP)Housing Program. A work crew of volunteers led by CAP Housing Crew Leader Mike Troutman had been diligently working on Baxter’s home to make it safe, warm, dry, and accessible. When they arrived at her home that morning to continue their work, they found Baxter disoriented and sick. They immediately called 911.

On the way to the hospital, the 47-year-old remembers going in and out of consciousness until she blacked out completely. When she woke up, she learned she had been airlifted to another hospital, had spent five days on a ventilator, was in the Intensive Care Unit for a week, and her organs had shut down.

— Kimberly Baxter

“A relative of hers said if we had been an hour later getting to her that morning, she would not have survived,” Troutman said. Baxter stayed in the hospital for a month before she was released to stay with a friend for two weeks during her initial recovery.

While Baxter says she was on a waiting list to receive dialysis treatments before she was sick, she is unsure what ultimately caused her unexpected illness. She now receives dialysis treatments three times a week, but credits CAP with saving her life. “I am so thankful the crew came and found me that morning,” Baxter said. “I am thankful for every one of them. I pray for them all the time. They are angels to me because they actually saved my life.”

Now at home, Baxter said she appreciates the improvements the Housing crews made. Before CAP came, she feared she would have to leave her home because of its condition. The kitchen ceiling had fallen in, buckets around her home caught water from her leaking roof, and her bathroom ceiling was damaged. CAP also repaired her front porch and added a ramp with handrails to improve her accessibility into her home.

“A lot of people were worried about me staying at the house. They thought it was going to cave in on me,” Baxter said. “Now everybody loves the house. They can’t believe it’s finally fixed. My family isn’t worried about me living there anymore.” She said her favorite part about her repaired home is the soothing sound of the rain against her new metal roof.

Baxter continues to recover at home and keeps in touch with CAP staff. “It was a good feeling knowing we just happened to be at the right place at the right time that morning,” Troutman said. “When I have talked to her on the phone, she sounds so much better than the day we found her. She seems to be well on the road to recovery.”

(below) CAP staff and volunteers made needed repairs to Kimberly Baxter’s home, including to her porch and siding.