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Benefis Nurse Becomes Grateful Patient
Kris Lattin-Jackson’s story began with what can only be described as a harrowing health scare a week before Halloween 2007.
The RN and Cardiac Care Liaison for Benefis Health System caught a serious intestinal flu that progressively worsened over the course of the week. The illness then developed into Necrotizing Fasciitis, more commonly known as “flesh-eating bacteria.”
Kris said while it was incredibly frightening to hear, "You have flesh-eating bacteria attacking your body," it was even worse hearing the orthopedic surgeon say, "I will try to save your arm.”
“It was touch and go for me,” she said, adding the disease was attacking her limbs - an arm, a leg and both feet.
Kris remains forever grateful for the “over-the-top” care provided by the entire Benefis family.
"I would never be able to thank everyone who helped me - from the physicians and nurses to the ER, the GI Lab, the respiratory therapists, etc. I am alive today because of all of them, their advocacy and the caring practices they extended to me and my family.”
This gratitude led to a generous gift of $5,000 to Benefis Healthcare Foundation from Kris and her husband, Thomas, in the form of a Deferred Payment Gift Annuity to benefit the Heart and Vascular Institute.
“I am really so thankful for everyone who took care of me and my family, and I wanted to somehow give back to the people who saved me,” Kris said. “We felt a gift to the Foundation was the sincerest way to do that.
"We discovered the gift was very simple to make, especially because of the surprisingly large tax advantages available with the way the Foundation staff helped us structure the gift. It added even more enjoyment to our giving!”
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