My name is James Barnes and I have been married to my wife, Peggy, for 45 years.  I need to raise money to make the many long driving trips and lodging to she her in the hospital she is staying at.   She will propably be there for two months.  I can not afford to stay over night and there are no facilities the hospital provides that she is staying at.   Having the finances to pay for the gas, food and lodging to stay one or two nights a trip would make a world of differance in the morale of both her and myself.   It breaks my heart to have to leave her on such a short time period as one day.   I could use the money right away as I'm already trying to travel once a week and it is so difficult financially and physically

for just one day a week.   The following is my story of what has happened.
     On January 5th of this year I brought Peggy to the emergency room of Clovis Community Medical Center because she had a fever of over 102 degress and was having difficulty breathing.   After registering we sat among the more than 50 people waiting to be seen.  She told me she couldn't breathe and I told this to the registration nurse. The nurse had me bring her up and I pushed her wheelchair to see the nurse. She listened to her chest and immediately had her in a room where nurses, technicians and a doctor started working with here.   A mask with oxygen was placed over her face and heartate sensors were installed on her chest.  Peggy was panting trying to get enough air.   An X-ray of her chest was taken and the results we're soon to be revealed to be my worst nightmare.  (She spent four months in the hospital four years ago with MRSA necrotizing pnemonia).  She had a very serious case of pneumonia again and her rapid breathing was due to severe dehydration.   A central line was installed in her neck and the doctor literally squeezed a bag of saline into the line connected to it to transfer fluids fast as her heartbeat was extremely rapid.  She was admitted to the intensive care unit, intubated and placed in a medically induced coma.   It was determined that she once again had MRSA pnemonia but this time it was not necrotizing.   After more than two months her condition was steadily deterioting.  Her doctor requested me to set up a family converance as she was not getting better and I would have to consider soon to take her off of her ventilator.  Her lung was leaking air and it filled her with air under her skin.  The condition is known as subcutaneous emphsima, traped air under the skin.  She swelled up about twice her size and even her eyelids were swollen shut.  Touching her skin filt like touching tissue paper or rice kispies.  The world literally felt like it was on my shoulders.  The family was to meet on February 10th.  The day before this meeting I prayed and begged  for Jesus to give her a miracle and that He might grant more time for her to spend with me.   The morning of February 10th I entered her room and the air was gone.  The doctor came in and told me her latest X-ray showed improvement and said we would move forward and to cancel the family meeting.  My miracle had been answered.  So she did have continued progress at a very slow rate of progress.  Many weeks on dialysis, many blood transfusions, all kinds of antibiotics,  many X-rays, CT Scans, speech threrapy sessions, physical therapy sessions and her  wonderful amazing doctor, the nurses and assistants of that ICU I will never be able to thank enough and most of all our good, good Father in heaven.       So she continued to stay in the ICU for a total of six months until she was well enought to be transfered.  She should of gone to rehab but somehow she came up with a pulled tendon on her left hip and the pain from it prevented  the needed physical therapy to progress enough to go to rehab.  
     The transfer would be to an LTACH (long term acute care hospital) unit instead of rehab.  There are none of these LTACHs in the Fresno area that could meet the needs of her case.  There are five LTACHs all locatred with a drive of about four hours.  I researched them all and read the reviews and the one in BREA looked like the best one.  I took a tour of this hospital and liked what I saw.  She was transfered the very next day.  The drive of 26 miles I use to make daily pales in comparison to the drive to Brea I now make about once a week.   This is very difficult for me as I have had seven back surgeries and the long drives are very wearing and painful for me.  So extending the stay would be a tremendous help.  
        I would be so very thankful for your help financially and it would mean so very much to be able to stay with Peggy as much as possible before my returns.   It breaks my heart when I have to leave her so soon as I love her so very much.