Medical and Emergency

In April 2013 my sister Michele became gravely ill. On May 1^st she was admitted to Intermountian Hospital's RICU (respiratory intensive care unit) in critical condition. Michele was diagnosed with a very rare form of ARDS(acute respiratory distress syndrome). She was placed in a drug induced coma for 21 days and on a respirator for 30 days. During this time her body went into shock several times and all her organs shut down. The doctors gave her less than a 5% chance of survival. Nothing they tried seem to help. Suddenly Michele started to improve after about 5 weeks. The doctors had no idea why or if it was her sheer will to live. At 6 weeks the doctors decided to transfer Michele to an LTAC (long term care facility). Michele needed to learn to walk, swallow and all the little things we take for granted. After about a month of hard work Michele was able to go home with Nursing care and physical therapy. Michele was home for about 4 days when her doctor called and told her she needed to return to the emergency room, her clotting factor was off the charts. This time the doctors found a very rare mass in her lung called an empyema which had to be removed in order for Michele to live. The surgery was extremely risky and again she was given a slim chance of survival.. Michele made it through the surgery. She had promised her son she would not leave him. Michele came out of surgery with 4 chest tubes and on a respirator again. This time was much harder for her. She was up against the fight for her life. She was so weak but determined not to loose everything she gained in rehab. She had lost so much weight and was down to 97lbs. After another month Michele again returned home to her son. Michele now requires oxygen 24/7, and suffers from PTSD with nightmares and flashbacks from the drugs she was given while in a coma. She has lost a lot of her short term memory and we are told this is all normal. The doctors don't know when or if she will recover. She cannot return to work. Michele is left with $900,000.00 in medical bills, no paycheck since April. We have applied for Disability and Medicaid but, everything seems to take so long. Michele really is in need of help in order to support herself, her son and continue her medical care. Can you please help this family get back to living?