Cathy Hesler

For as long as I can remember, people have always told me how often they see my mom riding her bike around town. It was just one of her many, many, hobbies, but I think it might’ve been her favorite. It didn't matter what the weather was like, who was visiting, or how busy she was; she was going to ride her bike.

While on a bike ride this past February, she came across an unconscious biker on the ground with blood seeping from his head. As nobody else was around, she immediately called 911. Six days after being admitted to the ICU, the man was discharged. The biker's father texted my mom to thank her for saving his life.

On March 2nd, another tragic accident occurred during one of the bicycle rides my mom loved so much—this time to her. She was taken to the hospital as soon as possible, but left the scene with a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). She was comatose for the next 11 days, and fought as hard as she could for the duration of that time. She made such large strides to recovery, and was able to communicate with family through hand squeezes, wiggling toes, and series of eye blinks for a few fleeting minutes. Unfortunately, her condition continued to deteriorate. As a family, we had to make a lot of incredibly difficult decisions. We all agreed that the brain damage she sustained was too severe to allow her to live a life that would be fulfilling and joyful for her. This led us to withdraw medical intervention and let her pass peacefully on March 13th.

Cathy Hesler was a wonderful mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, daughter, and friend. No words I write could ever encompass the true warmth I felt in her presence, or the emptiness I feel now in her absence. She was a beloved teacher at Holly Avenue, an integral part of her community at the horse stable she loved to ride at, a beautiful pianist and writer, a VERY passionate bird mom, and so much more. She was pure light, and will be sorely missed by all the lives she touched.

We are starting this page to help offset some of the costs of her hospital bills + memorial service. While it would be impossible to honor her in the way she deserves, we would like to honor her as best we possibly can. We would be grateful for any assistance helping us achieve that goal. If we exceed the donation goal on this page, my brothers and I would like to give any additional funds to the Brain Trauma Foundation and American Bird Conservancy.

Through our time spent with my mom in the hospital, we learned a great amount about TBIs as well as her more specific case, diffuse axonal injury. Unfortunately, we also learned there is an extensive need for research and discovery for these conditions as the majority of our questions led to the answer “I don’t know,” “we’ll have to wait,” or the dreaded “there’s nothing we can do.” By donating additional proceeds to the Brain Trauma Foundation we can help fund clinical research to improve outcomes in patients like my mom.

While the need for medical research is important, as I mentioned before, my mom was a VERY passionate bird mom. The organization American Bird Conservancy currently works to protect wild birds and their habitats, while building safe havens to restore endangered species. We truly believe my mom would rest peacefully knowing her life brought about positive change for her avian companions, thus additional proceeds beyond the goal will also be donated to this charitable cause. We are so deeply grateful to anyone who is able to donate to or share this page.