Blessings to everyone. I'm Andrew, Jake and Azee's mom, Erika. I'm setting up this GoFundMe due to financial hardships incurred after losing my son, Andrew, to complications of covid pneumonia. I had to take time off from work to take care of my children and myself when we fell sick with Covid-19 in mid-Nov 2021. My oldest son, Andrew, had a much harder time with his symptoms, struggled to breathe, and was transported by ambulance and admitted to the hospital on November 26. The nurse said he would probably be there for approximately 4-7 days. I didn't want to leave my son alone for those days because he was nonverbal with down syndrome, autism and undiagnosed schizophrenia; I needed to be his voice since he could not make medical decisions for himself. I insisted that the hospital staff please understand the importance of my presence at his bedside. He would be scared and confused about what was happening, and he had never been separated from me before. He kept removing the BiPAP oxygen mask because he didn't understand that he needed it to maintain acceptable oxygen levels. It's very uncomfortable for anyone to tolerate, much more for a person with special needs. The nurse said they would put restraints on him if he removed the mask again. I insisted that it would be a better decision to allow me to be at his side to help keep the BiPAP mask on and that I could help ease him from extreme panic and distress if he had a familiar person to encourage him rather than tie his hands. Finally, after going back and forth about hospital policies and being threatened to be removed by a security guard, I was allowed to stay with my son with strict restrictions. I could leave and come back only once during his entire stay, so I had to use my "free pass" wisely. Out of fear that I would be locked out if I left to take care of my other two sick children, I toughed it out and stayed the entire time (16 days) until he was intubated and taken to CCU, where I would be denied entry to his bedside until he was removed from isolation. I stayed with him as long as I could, considering my own health status. While in CCU, I was allowed to visit only at his window. I went every single day and stayed for as long as the staff would allow me to, doing my best to make sure he knew I was there. I would tap Skunk in the Barnyard on the window and play songs he loved, all while constantly waving my arms with the hope that he could see me near. When he was taken out of isolation on Dec 23rd, I was able to hold his hand and kiss his forehead once again, but by then, he was heavily sedated and seemed to have lost his will to live. The same could be said for the comatose condition he was in on the 24th when I visited. As I was walking into the hospital the next day, Christmas morning, I received a call from the Dr. telling me that they needed my consent to insert a chest tube because Drew’s right side lung had collapsed. I gave him my verbal consent to start the procedure immediately and ran from the lobby to the CCU. Once inside the CCU, I was given a consent form to sign and then was asked to wait outside as they began the procedure, but before I could exit the CCU, I could hear the Dr’s yell, “code blue!” They were able to get his pulse back, but he would flatline another two times before they decided Drew was much too critical to keep trying to put a chest tube in. He didn’t code anymore after that, and it wasn’t till the 2nd shift nurse arrived that we were told he had no brain activity. No one had checked his pupils for any reaction the entire day till around 8:30 p.m. All-day had gone by while I thought he was sedated and resting when in reality he had already traveled on in the morning hours of Christmas. We started comfort care around 2:15 a.m. to give some family members a chance to arrive and give him their final goodbyes. He was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m. Dec 26, 2021.

His burial services were held on Jan 13 and 14.

Now you can understand why it has taken me some time to prepare this GoFundMe account. I have been struggling quite severely to gain my momentum, emotionally, physically and spiritually, but it’s not going to be as fast as the bills that are backed up and keep piling up. I have been the sole provider in our household as a single mother in every sense for the past sixteen years and have relied on my employment income and Andrew’s SSI income to make ends meet, and rarely have much left over to have a savings account or emergency money. Now that Drew is gone, his SSI income is discontinued, so that’ll be a significant adjustment to our household expenses that I will have to figure out, but for now, I humbly come to you for support in any way possible with the faith that God will pay you back for your generosity. Thank you for all your prayers, flowers, cards, sweet gestures of friendship and love and for taking the time out of your day to read about the difficult journey my children, and I have been enduring since November. Drew lived every minute of his life with gratitude and taught us to love deeply and live fearlessly. Thank you, my beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.