Hi, my name is Emily and I started this fundraiser for my boyfriend's family, The Whites. The White's and I were on an amazing ten day vacation out west, starting September 18th. We flew into Phoenix, Arizona and then drove to Sedona, Grand Canyon National Park, crossed the border into Utah to visit Zion national park and ended the trip at Bryce Canyon National Park. We felt so lucky to have the opportunity to go hiking in some of the most beautiful parts of our country. On the last day of the trip, September 27th, my boyfriend's mom, Marilyn, had a brain aneurysm rupture 3 miles into our hike in Bryce Canyon. Due to the location and terrain of the park, it took multiple emergency medic crews about three hours to get Marilyn out of the canyon. She was transported via two separate helicopters to Sunrise Hospital, Las Vegas. The following week consisted of two brain surgeries, multiple trips to interventional radiology, and a roller coaster of emotions.

We would like to acknowledge the high level of care that Marilyn has received from everyone involved. This includes the fellow hikers in Bryce Canyon who stopped to help Marilyn and the family moments after her aneurysm ruptured, the Bryce Canyon National Park rangers who were the first appropriately trained responders on the scene and communicated our location to other medic crews, the EMT crew that most likely saved her life by diagnosing the situation and stabilized her prior to loading her into the helicopter, both helicopter transport teams, the medical team at St. George Regional Hospital who confirmed the brain aneurysm rupture and provided critical care that bought her time to allow her to be transported a second time, and finally, the entire neurology team at Sunrise Hospital who continue to provide Marilyn treatment that is second to none.

The doctors informed us that her recovery will be a long journey, and that it could be months before she is stable enough to return to the East Coast. Currently, my boyfriend, his brother, and his father are staying in hotels around Sunrise Hospital so they can be with Marilyn every day. The are incurring a large amount of unanticipated expenses such as medical, living, transportation, and food. My goal is to help relieve some of the burden associated with these expenses. Any amount of donation is extremely appreciated, and we thank you all for the support and prayers they have received so far!