Season of Sharing helps Bradenton couple with rent after devastating health issues - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The household budget was already tight for Kelli and Robbin Whitehead before a fateful day two years ago when Kelli waded into the Gulf of Mexico off Cortez Beach on Anna Maria Island.

The next day, the Bradenton couple noticed a troubling rash on the back of Kelli's left thigh. It was soon followed by blisters that ran down her leg, which began to turn purple. The Whiteheads went to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, where doctors determined that Kelli had contracted an aggressive flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis, commonly caused by bacteria that enter the body through cuts or breaks in the skin.

Within a week, Kelli had to have her left leg amputated. On the brink of organ failure, she was quickly placed on a ventilator and dialysis.

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In the two years since, the Whiteheads credit her doctors – especially Dr. James Kotick – for saving her life.  

"God saved my life, but they had anointed hands," she said of the surgeons who cared for her.

Kelli's medical problems persist – she's had 29 surgeries and multiple skin grafts in her abdominal region after doctors had to cut away infected parts of her stomach, and she has fallen twice while using a walker, breaking three ribs and her right ankle – and the couple's financial situation has gone from tenuous to a crisis.

Before the bacterial infection, the two got by on a combination of Kelli's job as a restaurant hostess and Robbin's disability checks, which he receives due to a severe heart condition that prevented him from going back to work as a brickmason on commercial demolition projects.

"We were just barely making it," Robbin Whitehead said.

But when Kelli was hospitalized, they lost her income. A few months later, she began receiving disability income – a total of $154 a month.

After paying $800 in rent and utilities, they were hardly breaking even.

Their landlord told them about Manatee County's Turning Points, which helps people who are at risk of homelessness.

Turning Points helped with their rent through federal grant money, which alleviated one financial worry.

But this summer, Turning Points housing program manager Andy Guyre realized the clock was ticking on the couple's federal rent assistance. There was no way that the couple could afford the $800 rent on just their disability income. With Kelli wheelchair-bound and Robbin caring for her around the clock, he knew he needed to find backup housing, fast.

"If I waited for the deadline, they would have had to move out and live on the streets," Guyre said. Most subsidized housing in the area has long waiting lists.

Then in late July, Guyre heard about an available apartment in the new affordable housing complex of Lincoln Village. It was compliant with the Americans with Disability Act, meaning it was wheelchair accessible. And the rent was almost half of the Whiteheads' current expense: $410 a month. It was something the couple could afford on their own.

"It was a day where the stars just seemed to align," Guyre said.

But there was one big problem. With the paperwork in motion and everything falling into place, Robbin had to spend the last of their money on moving and part of August's rent for the new apartment. There was nothing left to pay September's rent.

And the federal rent aid could not be used for federally subsidized housing.

Guyre told Robbin not to worry – Season of Sharing could help.

With $410 from Season of Sharing, the Whiteheads were able to pay September's rent, secure the apartment and get back on their feet.

"I could use that Season of Sharing for that rent to get them back where they needed to be so they are stable," Guyre said. "They just needed that little Band-Aid."

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"Turning Points has blessed us like you wouldn't believe," Kelli Whitehead said.

The two are grateful to Guyre for his help and for Season of Sharing.

"I just think it's beautiful," Kelli Whitehead, 50, said of the new apartment from her electric recliner in the living room, where she has plenty of space to recline the chair to help ease the excruciating pain in her abdominal area. "We just love it. I got all the room I need now."

The living room – with tall ceilings and attractive gray laminate flooring – has plenty of space for the couch where Robbin Whitehead usually sleeps to be close to Kelli should she stir in the middle of the night. The wheelchair fits through both bedrooms and bathrooms and into her closet, where she can pick out her clothes.  

"We'll still struggle a little, but not as bad," Robbin Whitehead, 60, said of their finances.

"We got it all paid this month and had a little left over," Kelli added.

Not a candidate for a prosthetic leg, she can no longer get around to clean and fix up their home like she used to do.  

"I kept my house spic and span. I kept everything pristine. I liked everything to have its place and look nice. I can't do that anymore," she said. "But I don't sit around feeling sorry for myself. I have to keep on going."

Prayer anchors her, she said.  

And Robbin?

"She prays for me," he joked, before shaking his head, tears welling in his eyes as he looked down, adding quietly about his constant worries, "I get so uptight, it's unreal."

The apartment has a backyard, where Robbin goes sometimes to clear his mind, he said.

But when the two really want to relieve their stress, there's one place they'll return: the beach.

The Whiteheads believe it was in the Gulf where Kelli caught the bacteria that led to her infection.

Still, the calm of the water and the sand draw her back. She can no longer get too close. Her doctors also forbid her from entering bodies of water in order to protect her still-healing wounds.

But every now and then Robbin will lift her into their vehicle and steer them over the causeway, driving to the coast. They'll park and stare out at the sea and the sand, forgetting the bills and talk of pain medication and doctors' visits. 

How to help

Season of Sharing was created 21 years ago as a partnership between the Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to get emergency funds to individuals and families on the brink of homelessness in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. There are no administrative fees and no red tape – every dollar donated goes to families in need to help with rental assistance, utility bills, child care and other expenses.

Donations to Season of Sharing may be made online at cfsarasota.org/donors/support-season-of-sharing, or by sending a check (payable to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County) to Attn. Season of Sharing, 2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34237. Contact the foundation at 941-955-3000 for more information or to request a credit card form. All donations are tax-deductible.

This story comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Saundra Amrhein covers the Season of Sharing campaign, along with issues surrounding housing, utilities, child care and transportation in the area. She can be reached at samrhein@gannett.com.

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