Hello everyone, I am reaching out on behalf of my family. First I would like to give a little background on our situation. My mom was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease 6 years ago this July. For those not familiar with this horrific disease, it was the one that Steven Hawkins’s suffered from and the one that inspired the viral ice bucket challenge some time ago. It is a terminal neurodegenative autoimmune disease that attacks your motor neurons. Patients end up completely paralyzed and eventually need life support when the lungs become too weak to move.The life expectancy is from 2-5 years but my mom beat those odds even after having COVID back in 2020, she never lost hope. She was already in the final stages with only very limited movement on one hand, even still she was fighting everyday. My family was providing her with at home care for some years, however, when the care became too advanced for us, we decided it was best to transfer her to a nursing home with her best interest in mind.

 Fast forward to June 11, we received a call from the nursing home staff at 1:30am with the worst news anyone can hear. My mom had suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated and transported to the hospital. Once there, she started having seizures and was kept under high sedation to control them. After further examination and MRI testing, it was determined she was without oxygen for a prolonged amount of time (8 to 15 minutes) which resulted in permanent deep tissue brain damage. As explained by her doctors, this damage is irreversible and her chances of making a significant neurological recovery are almost zero. Ever since the infarct, she has not regained consciousness and unfortunately there is nothing else to be done. Our family came to the decision of removing life support so my mom’s long fight can come to an end and she can pass/rest peacefully.

 I truly can’t comprehend how beautiful souls have to endure so much suffering in this life. I was blessed with the best mother, she never stopped taking care of me even after she was the one needing the care, she always put her children’s happiness and health before her own needs.Despite her situation ,my mother kept smiling through the pain. She is the strongest person I’ve even known. All I can hope for is that what is awaiting her in her next life is much better than what she endured here.

 I want to thank everyone who took time out of their day to read all of this. Any amount of donation helps our family immensely, to pay for the funeral home service as well as all the medical bills. I understand that not everyone is able to donate, but even sharing makes a difference. What I would like everyone to take from this is that we are on this earth for such a limited time and health is a very frail thing that can be taken away from is in an instant. Enjoy every moment, even the bad ones and never take what you have for granted, especially your parents. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.