Andrea Martin of Gloucester is looking for a little bit of help to get back on her feet, both literally and figuratively.

The 23-year-old part-time college student, who has a blood-thickening condition known as factor V Leiden, fell victim to the effects of a blood clot last June that eventually led to the loss of her left leg. Payments on her medical bills have fallen behind, she said, and she doesn’t have the funds to pay her share of the cost for a prosthetic leg so she can begin her life anew.

Andrea said she first noticed the problem one day at school when the lower half of her body started swelling. Later that day, her leg "went out completely" and she couldn’t walk. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance, eventually ending up at Portsmouth Naval Hospital, where her lower body continued to swell until she was carrying an extra 100 pounds of fluid.

There, Andrea was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, and a fasciotomy was performed to relieve the pressure in...