Donation protected
On June 30th 2018 Patrick and his wife Marina found themselves facing an impossible, life changing moment. At 29 weeks pregnant, Marina was admitted to the hospital with concern for the well-being of herself and their unborn child. Over the next 48 hours and after a battery of tests, the Brinker's were told that Marina had a genetic heart defect and the pregnancy was putting strain on her heart, causing her kidneys to fail. Because her kidneys were failing at such a rapid rate, Doctors told them that their daughter had to be delivered within the hour. On July 1st at 2 PM, Allison Hope Brinker, was born 11 weeks early weighing just 3 lbs. Allison was not breathing when she was born, but with the help of the amazing staff at the Aurora Sinai Medical Center she was resuscitated and stabilized. Over the next 60 days, Patrick worked hard to hold his family together. He spent as much time as he could at the hospital while continuing to work and support his family, including their 2 other boys at home; Adrian & Preston. Despite having only 1 vehicle and living 30 minutes from work and a further hour from the hospital, Patrick never allowed these challenges to prevent him from being there for his family.
Miraculously, Allison was able to leave the hospital and come home without any major health concerns; aside from being born premature. That same week, they found out that Marina's heart condition was caused by Bilateral Pheochromocytomas. In short, she had tumors on both of her adrenal glands that sit on top of her kidneys. In preparation for emergency surgery, Marina immediately began taking an extremely expensive medication to stop her adrenal glands from over producing Adrenalin. This medication left her unable to care for herself so at that time, Patrick took a leave of absence from work in order to care for his family.
On September 20th, Marina had both of her adrenal glands removed. After a few weeks, she recovered enough that Patrick was able to return to work full time on October 8th. Recently they found out, through genetic testing, that Marina has a rare condition called Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome which causes sporadic tumors and cysts to form throughout her body. Unfortunately, this means she is also no longer able to work.
After returning to work, Patrick has been working as much overtime as possible in an attempt to right their financial situation. At this time, we wish to come together to help the Brinker Family get back on their feet. What they've gone through was an emotional and expensive journey. At this point, they should be able to spend time together, thankful that both Marina and Allison are still here.
Thank you for any support you are inclined to offer. All fundraising efforts will go directly to the Brinker family. We are just helping them by creating this campaign.
Miraculously, Allison was able to leave the hospital and come home without any major health concerns; aside from being born premature. That same week, they found out that Marina's heart condition was caused by Bilateral Pheochromocytomas. In short, she had tumors on both of her adrenal glands that sit on top of her kidneys. In preparation for emergency surgery, Marina immediately began taking an extremely expensive medication to stop her adrenal glands from over producing Adrenalin. This medication left her unable to care for herself so at that time, Patrick took a leave of absence from work in order to care for his family.
On September 20th, Marina had both of her adrenal glands removed. After a few weeks, she recovered enough that Patrick was able to return to work full time on October 8th. Recently they found out, through genetic testing, that Marina has a rare condition called Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome which causes sporadic tumors and cysts to form throughout her body. Unfortunately, this means she is also no longer able to work.
After returning to work, Patrick has been working as much overtime as possible in an attempt to right their financial situation. At this time, we wish to come together to help the Brinker Family get back on their feet. What they've gone through was an emotional and expensive journey. At this point, they should be able to spend time together, thankful that both Marina and Allison are still here.
Thank you for any support you are inclined to offer. All fundraising efforts will go directly to the Brinker family. We are just helping them by creating this campaign.
Organizer
Zachary Barboza
Organizer
West Bend, WI