Help the Lavin's stay in London
Donation protected
I have set up this page to raise money to help my mum with costs towards staying in London to be near to my dad. My dad, Jarlath, is currently in the intensive care unit at St. Mary's hospital in Paddington.
My dad, as well as myself and my brother and sister, has Marfan syndrome, which is a rare genetic disorder which can effect the aorta. He was first diagnosed with Marfans after suffering from an aortic aneurism in 1994. Following this he went on to and have several surgical procedures to repair the damage and at one point being on a ventilator in ICU for 10 weeks. This all took place in the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, which is where we all live.
On Wednesday 1st February we came to London for my dads planned surgery on an aneurism in his abdominal aorta, as part of the recovery for this procedure he was going to need to be in ICU. St. Mary's is a specialist hospital and is the only place where he was able to have this lifesaving surgery. The operation lasted for 12 hours and was a success. It was expected that he would have a prolonged stay in ICU, however much to everyone's surprise, he came off the ventilator the day after surgery and was moved to High Dependancy four days after his surgery. He was doing miraculously well and surpassed not only the doctors expectations but his own.
Then on Wednesday 8th February, six days after dads aortic surgery we had a massive shock. Dad had appeared to have suffered from a stroke, which can be a complication of major surgery, but usually in the 24 hours after. Once having a CT scan to establish what had happened, the neurologists discovered it wasn't a stroke, it was a lesion on his brain which had bled. He was immediately rushed to theatre for neurosurgery.
At the moment he is back on a ventilator and is in a stable but very critical condition. We aren't sure what is going to happen and the doctors are taking it day by day. There is no way of predicting how long he will be asleep for, how long he will be ventilated for or how long he will be in London for. We are also still waiting to see what exactly the lesion on his brain is.
That's why I have started this campaign, to raise money to help towards the cost of accommodation for our family whilst he is in London. Understandably we don't want to be far away so we can speak to the doctors, be here if he wakes up and needs us or incase there are any changes in his condition. Obviously it is very expensive to stay in London, and my mum is self-employed so if she isn't working she isn't earning as much. There is accommodation available to patients relatives but this is a 20minute tube journey away and my mum is very nervous to be more than a short walk away. This accommodation also costs £57 per person per night, and there are hotels within a 5minute walk from St. Mary's in this price range, so there is no need to be so far. My dad has a social worker and they are unable to offer an help.
This is a very difficult situation for our family so any help towards our cause would be greatly appreciated
My dad, as well as myself and my brother and sister, has Marfan syndrome, which is a rare genetic disorder which can effect the aorta. He was first diagnosed with Marfans after suffering from an aortic aneurism in 1994. Following this he went on to and have several surgical procedures to repair the damage and at one point being on a ventilator in ICU for 10 weeks. This all took place in the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, which is where we all live.
On Wednesday 1st February we came to London for my dads planned surgery on an aneurism in his abdominal aorta, as part of the recovery for this procedure he was going to need to be in ICU. St. Mary's is a specialist hospital and is the only place where he was able to have this lifesaving surgery. The operation lasted for 12 hours and was a success. It was expected that he would have a prolonged stay in ICU, however much to everyone's surprise, he came off the ventilator the day after surgery and was moved to High Dependancy four days after his surgery. He was doing miraculously well and surpassed not only the doctors expectations but his own.
Then on Wednesday 8th February, six days after dads aortic surgery we had a massive shock. Dad had appeared to have suffered from a stroke, which can be a complication of major surgery, but usually in the 24 hours after. Once having a CT scan to establish what had happened, the neurologists discovered it wasn't a stroke, it was a lesion on his brain which had bled. He was immediately rushed to theatre for neurosurgery.
At the moment he is back on a ventilator and is in a stable but very critical condition. We aren't sure what is going to happen and the doctors are taking it day by day. There is no way of predicting how long he will be asleep for, how long he will be ventilated for or how long he will be in London for. We are also still waiting to see what exactly the lesion on his brain is.
That's why I have started this campaign, to raise money to help towards the cost of accommodation for our family whilst he is in London. Understandably we don't want to be far away so we can speak to the doctors, be here if he wakes up and needs us or incase there are any changes in his condition. Obviously it is very expensive to stay in London, and my mum is self-employed so if she isn't working she isn't earning as much. There is accommodation available to patients relatives but this is a 20minute tube journey away and my mum is very nervous to be more than a short walk away. This accommodation also costs £57 per person per night, and there are hotels within a 5minute walk from St. Mary's in this price range, so there is no need to be so far. My dad has a social worker and they are unable to offer an help.
This is a very difficult situation for our family so any help towards our cause would be greatly appreciated
Organizer
Kristina Lavin
Organizer
