Support for Rosalba and family

Dear loved ones, friends, and family

Our mom, Rosalba, needs your help. Right now, she is in the fight of her life but she is far from giving up.

Anyone who has met our mom knows the incredible heart that she has and her love for all of her family, friends, and even strangers that she’s come across. Many people at her job have called her the “Mother Teresa of JFK Airport” because of her generosity, and how quick she was to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it. Well, now it’s our turn as Rosalba needs our help more than ever.

On November 28, 2022, Rosalba went for a surgery on her back. She was scared of what might happen but ultimately she was brave enough to go through with the surgery. No one could’ve predicted the outcome and how bad our lives would flip upside down. The surgery itself, at the time, was considered a success, until she suffered a stroke. Fluid leaked from her spine, and caused too much pressure on her brain. Unexpected to say the least, nevertheless she kept her head high and continued fighting.

Little did we know, that would not be the end of the nightmare but only the beginning. Slowly on her way to recovery, learning to walk again in rehab until one day she wasn’t feeling well. The doctors dismiss it without any closer inspection “it’s nothing to worry about, it’s just anxiety” they told us. Rosalba even had to be her own advocate in asking for more oxygen. Later that night, she went into cardiac arrest- not once, not twice, not even three times but a total of four times.

Almost a half hour without oxygen to the brain. For those who know anything about the brain, every minute without oxygen could be the decider between life and death. We were told there would be a 0 percent chance that our Mom would make it. We thought that would be it, game over, end of story. Devastated and heartbroken, confused and outraged, our family held onto each other closer than ever.

Turns out, the story is not over. Our mom is a fighter. Slowly but surely, our mom started showing more signs of life- opening her eyes, smiling, closing and opening her mouth, mouthing words, breathing on her own for extended periods of time, moving her hands, her feet, and even blowing us kisses. The doctors simply could not believe it, they couldn’t understand how it was possible but they don’t know our mom like we do. One nurse was so shocked when our mom mouthed the words “Hi” that she started crying and called all of the floor’s staff to come in and see for themselves. If anyone is deserving of a miracle, it’s Rosalba.

Fast forward to today - Rosalba is still fighting to recovery. Still on the ventilator, not every day is easy, she fights infections common to patients on vents but we remain hopeful that our mom will pull through. It is a miracle our mom is even still here to begin with.

We believe in her and we have not given up on her. The progress has been incredible but we still have a long way to go. Our mom’s love is priceless, but medical bills unfortunately do come with a price- a very expensive one. If our mom has touched your heart in any way and you would like to be apart of our recovery story, we could use all the help we could get.

Thank you and God bless!