Sarah Garner's Medical Needs

Hello Everyone!  I am Rebecca Katsetos, the sister of the most amazing fighter I've ever know, Sarah Garner!  My sister Sarah is 42 years old and has been disabled since she was a toddler.  Reason?  No one knows...but we do know she's a rockstar and has overcome a lot over the years.  My parents have done a wonderful job taking care of Sarah over the years too.  My mom is her "round the clock" caretaker and is always trying to find answers and ways to help her.

While Sarah is 100% physically disabled, mentally she is 100% just like anyone else!  She is unable to talk like you and I, but she smiles for yes when she's meaning "yes", or when she's happy and excited and she tries to say no for "No!"  She even tries to sing to her favorite singer of all time...Josh Groban!!!  We can hear her in the house when "You Raise Me Up" comes on.  She's also been heard saying "Mom" after being motivated with The Ellen DeGeneres Show.  We talk to her just like anyone else.  I can't say I've ever had any sister disputes, but I've shared many secrets and stories only sisters hear :) 

Sarah has been bedridden for most of her life and tube fed through her nose for about 30 years.  When she gets sick, it can be a challenge for her body to bounce back like you or I as she has a compromised immune system.

The most recent illnesses for Sarah began a couple months ago in June 2015.  Sarah was hospitalized in the ICU for over two weeks with pneumonia.  She fought it hard and came home with oxygen.  On September 5, 2015, only three short months later, Sarah was back in the ICU.  This time she had a harder battle to fight:  drug resistant infection (Pseudomonas Aeruginosa) in her lungs and also pneumonia.  I wouldn't even google about the drug resistant infection as I knew it wasn't good.  As I mentioned above, Sarah is an amazing fighter.  She was put on a ventilator on September 11 when she was gasping for air and on September 15 she underwent her first surgery ever...a tracheotomy and "G" tube in her stomach for her food!  The surgeon came out saying, "It couldn't have gone smoother."  And that is why I remind you...my sister is a rockstar!  Tears flooded my families' eyes as we were so happy to hear she pulled through surgery...something we were told over the years she wouldn't be able to do.

The hospital has gotten Sarah a bed that moves around regularly putting her on her side, laying her flat, side again, etc... and she LOVES it!!!  She will need this bed once she is home to help alleviate congestion that settles and get her lungs stronger because as the doctors have told my parents, "she has no reserve left in her lungs right now." 

So...we need to build her lungs up!  How do we do that?  How can you help?  By contribuing to getting Sarah the bed she needs, the lift she needs for my parents to transport her to her wheelchair and other areas of the house, and the supplements she uses to help her entire body heal and stay strong!

Sarah is the light in our eyes, the joy in our hearts, and the rock that we call daughter and sister.  She deserves to have the things to help her just like anyone else.  She is strong and courageous and was all smiles prior to her surgery knowing she will have assitance with the tracheotomy and be fed with the G tube.  Who is all smiles prior to surgery for the first time in your life?  That would be the amazing woman I call my sister...Sarah!

Thank you in advance for anything you can contribute to helping Sarah get the necessary medical needs.  My family can't thank you enough!!!