Gratitude for Mom’s Coronavirus Caregivers

***Wednesday, May 20th, UPDATE - PLEASE READ***
After much aggravation, we were able to get my mom out of the hospital and into a rehab facility!Today, after 9 very long weeks, Mom starts the next step in her recuperation process. She still needs to have her tracheotomy reversed, which will be done in rehab (and hopefully soon) and she needs to learn to do everything again...walk, talk, use her hands...everything. Looking ahead to when she is released from the rehab, she will most likely need home assistance that may not all be covered by insurance and she will have expenses that need to be covered. Once again, I’m asking that those of you who have donated allow us to use the money towards any expenses she may incur. And for anyone else to make a donation to help her.

Thank you and keep praying for her speedy recovery!

***Monday, May 18th, UPDATE - PLEASE READ***
While my mom has made a miraculous recovery over the last several weeks, she has been stuck for more than two weeks, trying to get off her tracheostomy. The doctors have not been as proactive as they should have been and every day my mom pleads with me to fix everything. I finally got the hospital to agree to allow her to have a private nurse who can stay with her and help her with capping her trach. Having someone with her all the time is the ONLY way she is going to get out of there. The only problem is that it isn’t covered by medical insurance and it’s $1,200 per day . While I have not spent all of the money that many of you have so generously donated, I have spent a good amount of it already on feeding the staff. I am asking that (1) you allow me to spend the rest on caring for my mom and (2) please think about making a donation to help my mom. 

Thank you so much! Mara

On March 19th, our mom, Harriet was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She had been suffering for two weeks with digestive issues and had been told repeatedly by her doctors that it was just a stomach flu.

Since that evening, when she was admitted into the ICU, sedated and put on a ventilator, she has had many ups and downs; but we are grateful to report that she has made some improvements over the past several days!

Mom had a tracheotomy which moved the ventilator from her mouth to her throat. Despite all of the infections and setbacks, the tracheotomy has allowed the amazing staff to slowly start waking her from her sedation over the last two weeks. As of Friday, she is no longer under any sedation and has been moved out of ICU! They are testing different levels of breathing support and she seems to be responding well, thus far.

Though we have not been able to be with her, still banned from all hospitals in New York, Mara feels like she is just as far away from her mom as Marc is, even though she only lives half a mile away, in Manhattan and he is all the way across the country, in Southern California. But, through FaceTime we’ve been able to talk to her this week and, although she can’t verbally reply, her eyes are open and she is communicating with us.

While her long term prognosis is unclear, what is clear is that our mom is a fighter, her will to live is unmatched and she’s defied many odds to make it this far! We don’t know what the future holds, and the road to recovery will be long and winding, but we have all felt the amazing strength, love and prayers you have sent through your messages and phone calls.

As a token of gratitude, we have started this GoFundMe campaign to raise $ that will send food/supplies/care directly to the nurses on the units at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where Mom has been and is being cared for, to take care of them and thank them. We already have several restaurants who have joined our campaign and several others who will be jumping in soon.

If you’d like to contribute, anything you can give would be much appreciated.

Please feel free to share this link with anyone and everyone you know.

A special thanks to our friend, Restauranteur and Celebrity Chef, Donatella Arpaia, who immediately agreed to help us out. The first lunch and dinner delivery will be pizzas donated by Donatella's Prova Pizzabar. The restaurant has been closed since mid-March. This week, they are giving back to several hospitals and police precincts around the city where Donatella has close affiliations. Mara is fortunate to have such an affiliation, as she was one of Donatella's first customers 20 years ago, at her original restaurant, Bellini. 

Our heartfelt thanks to each of you for your love and support during this unthinkable time. We hope you are all healthy and safe.

Mara & Marc

PS - Thanks to all of the great restaurants who are helping us share our gratitude via food:

Cosi
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Guy and Gallard
Insomnia Cookies
Mangia
Patsy’s Pizzeria
Prova Pizzabar
Texas Rotisserie & Grill
Tony's Di Napoli