Help My Mom Come Home

Dear family and friends,

It is with a heavy heart that my family and I reach out to you this holiday season for some love and support. My mom is currently in a hospital in Ecuador, on a ventilator, in dire need of expensive life-saving surgical treatment. What was supposed to be a quick getaway to Ecuador to escape the cold weather and spend the Christmas holiday with loved ones has become a holiday nightmare.

While abroad, my mom originally got sick with what we thought was a simple cold. When symptoms persisted, she was diagnosed with COVID. At 77 years old, my mom suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, which has left her with a compromised immune system. The COVID evolved into pneumonia, which led to an infection in her lungs. The infection deposited fluid in her lungs that made it impossible for her to breathe on her own. Last week, my mom was put into a medically induced coma so she could undergo a second thoracic surgery to drain fluid from her lungs. The procedure was successful, and she was able to wake from her coma and come off the ventilator. Our joy was short-lived, however, as this past weekend, just one day after coming off the ventilator, a new infection was discovered. This time her doctors are recommending a surgery to remove a portion of her lung that is infected. My mom is once again on a ventilator fighting for her life.

In Ecuador, the public healthcare system is very poor compared to the care we are accustomed to in the United States. My father elected to take my mom to a private facility, Nova Clínica del Valle, where she would receive a higher quality of care. While we have confidence her medical team can provide the lifesaving care she requires, the costs of treatment have quickly grown beyond my family’s financial capability. The ICU stay alone costs over $2,500/day, and as we prepare for a third surgery, the costs are simply out of reach. My mom does not have insurance in Ecuador, so we are forced to bear this burden on our own and must come up with funds in advance to get my mother into surgery. We would greatly prefer to get her on a medical flight home where we have greater confidence in the care she would receive and have insurance to help us bear the cost. Both approaches carry significant cost, which is why I must humbly ask for any help you can provide.

My mom is a kind and generous woman who is very active in her church and has always looked out for those less fortunate. She worked long hours and multiple jobs to raise me, my brother, and two sisters, and while we didn’t have a lot growing up, we always had enough, and we had each other. I want to extend my most sincere gratitude to you for finding it in your heart to support our effort to help my mom. Thank you for your understanding, love, compassion, and prayers. Any donation, big or small, will be immensely appreciated. Our Christmas wish is to have my mom home in the U.S. as soon as possible. We are infinitely grateful for any contribution you can make toward that goal.