Stand with Joanne in Her Time of Need

Help Joanne Fight for Her Life

On Friday afternoon, our beloved mother, Joanne, was rushed to Kaiser in South Sacramento struggling to breathe. Doctors initially suspected pneumonia, but when she didn’t respond to treatment, they had to make the difficult decision to intubate and sedate her. Her oxygen levels remained dangerously low, and she was placed on an ECMO (artificial heart and lung) life support machine before being transferred by a critical care team two hours away to Kaiser Santa Clara.

Here, in the Cardiac ICU, doctors discovered that Joanne’s mitral valve was severely damaged, preventing her heart from properly delivering blood to her body. We still don’t know if this was caused by an infection, a heart attack, or something else, but it led to dangerously low oxygen levels, organ failure, and widespread cell damage.

But Joanne is fighting.

Her condition has improved just enough for doctors to perform a procedure to clip her mitral valve, which will allow her heart to start healing. However, she remains on life support and is expected to stay in critical care for several more weeks. Her road to recovery will be long, but we are holding onto hope that she will come home to us.

Our family has gathered from out of town and out of state to be by her side. We have no idea what to expect when it comes to the medical expenses for her life-saving care, and we are asking for the support of our community to help us through this unimaginable time. Any contribution, big or small, will go toward Joanne’s medical expenses and the costs of keeping our family close to her as she fights to recover.

We have been so touched by the outpouring of love, prayers, and stories about how Joanne has impacted the lives of so many. She is our whole world, and we are grateful for any help in bringing her home.

With love and gratitude,

Ashley + Theresa Cooper