<div>Close family and friends; as some of you may or may not know by now, my grandfather Charlie isn't doing so great currently. He wasn't feeling too hot Sunday night claiming he was having some back pain, little did we know that the back pain would quickly spiral into a series of events none of us were prepared for. After finding him in the condition he was in, my Grandmother and I called for help where he was then taken to St. Alexius in Hoffman Estates. After some medical evaluations and testing they found that he was suffering from an abdominal aortic aneurysm, or "AAA" for short. During an abdominal aortic aneurysm, blood continues to be pumped from the heart into the aorta, which supplies the abdomen, pelvis, and legs. The aneurysm itself is a bulge in the aorta's weakened wall, which is caused by the pressure of blood passing through it. Therefore, the blood gets to the abdomen in the normal way, flowing through the weakened, bulging section of the aorta. After finding this out, he was airlifted from that hospital to St.Alexius in Elk grove for emergency surgery due to the severity of his condition. During transport the aneurysm ruptured causing internal bleeding and we almost lost him in surgery. The doctors did everything they could and the surgery turned out to be a success. They added 2 stents which stopped the bleeding and drained some of the excess. However post surgery his legs turned purple due to lack of circulation but returned to their normal color later that night. He has remained intubated but is awake and is responding to questions via head nod, can squeeze his hands and has full function of his eyes. He was put on dialysis Monday because of the build up of acid in his kidneys which haven't been and aren't currently functioning properly. His condition has been moving in waves as he's better one day and worse the next but it's all in God's hands. Knowing his condition and how severe and bumpy things have been we're honestly not sure how things will play out; God willing he'll pull through and make a full recovery but we have a long road ahead of us. I'm not one to usually post but I'm trying to do everything in my power to hold things down for the family. Between the hospital, my grandmother who has been out of work due to this, my younger sister/other family and everything else that is a pressing matter back home as well as work for myself; and to be honest I'm really not sure how it's all going to unfold, especially if things don't get better... But we know that God is everywhere and is the ultimate power. What he decides is just thata and will be. Thankyou for all of the thoughts, prayers and kind words that we've been receiving the past couple days, it's more than appreciated during these hard times.
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<div>TO EVERYONE: We're not sure how long Pops is going to be in this condition or if he's going to come out on top; but what we can do is be here for him and keep the prayers going up. Given this, I'm well aware things are going to become very tight financially, especially if he doesn't pull through. I just want to insure he's taken care of as well as my grandmother and I'm sure she's the biggest thing on Pops mind as well.
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<div>Please do not feel obligated to donate. If you do choose to donate please know there's nothing in this world we can say to you to reciprocate how much your help/thoughts mean to us during these times.
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<div>Thankyou again to everyone that took the time out of their day to read this and those who have called to show love.
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<div>If anyone has any other questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me personally as I'll do my best to get you what you need.
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<div>Thankyou to all &amp; have a blessed day. 
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Stacy Dykstra

Burch Breazeale

Lucas Greco

Tatianna Donaldson

Deann Burroughs

Ren Ybarbo

Calvary Tutson

Yvonne Estrada

Anonymous

Alan Gallardo

Robert Brown

Michael Miserendino

Kohinoor Kushi

Aid for Charlie's Funeral and Family Support

Aid for Charlie's Funeral and Family Support

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