Help the Giffin Family

As many of you already know, Debbie went in for a heart valve replacement surgery on November 20. Going into the surgery we were hopeful that withing a couple of weeks she would be recovering at home, but unfortunately this was not the case. Post surgery, due to unexpected complications with her lungs, she was unable to breathe on her own and she remained on a respirator and under sedation for 2 1/2 weeks. Because a prolonged period spent under sedation can complicate the recovery process, doctors eventually had to perform a tracheotomy to bring her out of sedation. She was then transferred to St. Joseph Hospital Rehabilitation Center, and she remains there now in order to wean off the trach. Unfortunately, the length of time she spent under sedation means that she will have to relearn to eat, talk and walk. She has a long road to recovery ahead of her and the whole experience has put an obvious financial burden on the family. Even the daily drive that her husband makes to the rehabilitation center, which is nearly an hour drive from their home, is starting to add significant travel expenses to resources already overextended by medical bills. We are reaching out to family and friends for donations to the family to help counter and ease some of the financial burden. Anything helps and no donations are too small. You can visit this page for weekly updates on her progress. Thank you.