On January 9th, my best friend, Agnes, lost her father.

On November 29th, her father was hospitalized for a heart attack, which worsened his pre-existing kidney condition. The cause of the heart attack was found to be the fatally high dosage of medication he was prescribed by his doctor. Despite telling his doctor multiple times that it was causing him to feel ill prior to the attack, he was assured that these were only side effects of the medication.

In the two weeks after being hospitalized, Agnes’ father did not receive proper care. He received no physical therapy to maintain his strength, contracted both pneumonia and sepsis, and developed abdominal pains from constantly being given medications on an empty stomach. He was then transferred to another hospital that could not perform the heart procedure he needed due to his poor condition, and was later forced to return to the original hospital. When he learned that he was to go back, he told his family, “I don’t want to go back there, I’m going to die there.” Shortly after being transferred back, he himself alerted the staff of severe abdominal pain that resulted in an emergency colon surgery performed on Christmas day.

Although things improved for a short period of time post surgery, complication after complication occurred due to continuous procedures. After six weeks total of being moved from one hospital room to another, Agnes’ father had become so weak that he finally succumbed to his condition and passed away surrounded by his family.

I am hoping that these funds provide relief to Agnes and her family for, at least, the funeral expenses while they wait for billing from the hospital. Beyond that, I hope to bring them whatever peace is possible in a time like this, as the mistakes that were made in the last few months of her father's life are irreparable.