Donation protected
ABOUT CHRISTIE:
Christie is the youngest of 31 cousins and my only sister. She and her husband moved to California in 2017 to receive better health care and live closer to me, my wife, and our kids. It was hard to leave her two step-sons in Las Vegas but the medical care in Nevada was subpar and ultimately doctors there misdiagnosed her kidney issues which led to End Stage Renal Disease and the need for Hemodialysis Treatment.
For those of you that know Christie, you know she is sweet yet feisty, hardworking yet loved to relax, outgoing yet private. So not many people were privy to her medical issues, and the fact that her medical struggles have nearly killed her spirit and hope. After many years of battling, childhood diagnosed Diabetes, she was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease in the summer of 2016. While maintaining a 40+ hour per week job, Christie must receive Hemodialysis (HD) therapy 3-4 times a week for about 4.5 hours each session TO LIVE. The travel and hours at therapy consume most of her waking hours. They hinder her ability to participate in the things that improve her quality of life and activities that support her mental and physical health. In addition, this cuts down on the time she can spend with her husband and family! HD is extremely hard on her body. After the hours of treatment, she is often wiped out. And all she can bring herself to do is eat a basic meal, often store-bought because of her lack of time and energy, before she goes to sleep. She is on the kidney transplant list in California, but no matches have been found thus far.
WHAT HAPPENED:
On February 1, 2020, I received the most distressing news since I got the call that my mom passed away less than a year earlier. My brother-in-law, Drew Schmitz, was on the line sobbing. The only words he could get out were “her heart stopped”. The following moments were a blur and the next thing I can clearly recall was standing outside the locked ICU doors at Woodland Memorial Hospital. Drew was sitting on the cold tile floor in a daze when we arrived, and we waited in silence for the hospital staff to come out with an update about Chris.
The minutes crawled until they finally let us in to see Chris. They told us that she had 24-48 hours to live. They said she went into cardiac arrest during the routine surgery on her leg; that the surgical staff performed CPR for a grueling 18 minutes and that she would most likely have brain damage, if she even recovered. I called my dad and the rest of our family to share the horrible news. The hospital staff said they would do everything to reduce the damage to her brain and body.
Chris went through extensive care in the ICU. She was in a comatose state for almost 3 weeks. We sat tirelessly by her bedside around the clock waiting for a sign that she was going to wake up. All the monitors and lines connected to her seemingly lifeless body, the alarms that would put us into an immediate panic were almost too much to handle. But we remained committed to staying by her side no matter what. On February 18th, Chris suddenly “woke up” and spoke her first words. She has made extremely slow but steady process. There have been confounding complications and the fact that she is a HD patient has also hindered her recovery.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
The hospital staff has reminded us that the family’s continued participation in Chris’ rehabilitation is imperative in her recovery. It appears that the worst has passed, but she has a LONG road ahead of her. She will soon be transferred to an Acute Care Hospital about 1.5 hours away, where she will receive rehabilitation to help her walk, talk and complete activities of daily living again. At the moment, she can’t walk on her own and speaking is difficult for her. She has just begun to brush her own hair and teeth, but still needs help feeding herself. She also needs assistance with going to the bathroom on her own, a simple task that many take for granted. The family will need to travel to the new hospital every day to support her and be present for her rigorous therapy sessions. My dad and step-mom flew here from Hawaii and have taken a leave of absence from work and have helped absorb housing costs for the last two months. Drew has shown his unwavering commitment and love to Chris and has also taken a leave of absence from work. There has been no income for Drew and Chris in almost two months. They need your help in paying for their basic necessities and medical costs.
HOW YOUR DONATION WILL HELP:
• Medical bills
• Rehabilitation and after-care costs
• Housing
• Food
• Gas to the rehabilitation facility
No amount is too small. Any donation will be appreciated. If you are unable to donate, please share this on your social media.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Christie Antonio-Schmitz & Drew Schmitz, Jae & Coleen Antonio, my dad Clemente Antonio and my stepmom Vangie Barba
Christie is the youngest of 31 cousins and my only sister. She and her husband moved to California in 2017 to receive better health care and live closer to me, my wife, and our kids. It was hard to leave her two step-sons in Las Vegas but the medical care in Nevada was subpar and ultimately doctors there misdiagnosed her kidney issues which led to End Stage Renal Disease and the need for Hemodialysis Treatment.
For those of you that know Christie, you know she is sweet yet feisty, hardworking yet loved to relax, outgoing yet private. So not many people were privy to her medical issues, and the fact that her medical struggles have nearly killed her spirit and hope. After many years of battling, childhood diagnosed Diabetes, she was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease in the summer of 2016. While maintaining a 40+ hour per week job, Christie must receive Hemodialysis (HD) therapy 3-4 times a week for about 4.5 hours each session TO LIVE. The travel and hours at therapy consume most of her waking hours. They hinder her ability to participate in the things that improve her quality of life and activities that support her mental and physical health. In addition, this cuts down on the time she can spend with her husband and family! HD is extremely hard on her body. After the hours of treatment, she is often wiped out. And all she can bring herself to do is eat a basic meal, often store-bought because of her lack of time and energy, before she goes to sleep. She is on the kidney transplant list in California, but no matches have been found thus far.
WHAT HAPPENED:
On February 1, 2020, I received the most distressing news since I got the call that my mom passed away less than a year earlier. My brother-in-law, Drew Schmitz, was on the line sobbing. The only words he could get out were “her heart stopped”. The following moments were a blur and the next thing I can clearly recall was standing outside the locked ICU doors at Woodland Memorial Hospital. Drew was sitting on the cold tile floor in a daze when we arrived, and we waited in silence for the hospital staff to come out with an update about Chris.
The minutes crawled until they finally let us in to see Chris. They told us that she had 24-48 hours to live. They said she went into cardiac arrest during the routine surgery on her leg; that the surgical staff performed CPR for a grueling 18 minutes and that she would most likely have brain damage, if she even recovered. I called my dad and the rest of our family to share the horrible news. The hospital staff said they would do everything to reduce the damage to her brain and body.
Chris went through extensive care in the ICU. She was in a comatose state for almost 3 weeks. We sat tirelessly by her bedside around the clock waiting for a sign that she was going to wake up. All the monitors and lines connected to her seemingly lifeless body, the alarms that would put us into an immediate panic were almost too much to handle. But we remained committed to staying by her side no matter what. On February 18th, Chris suddenly “woke up” and spoke her first words. She has made extremely slow but steady process. There have been confounding complications and the fact that she is a HD patient has also hindered her recovery.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
The hospital staff has reminded us that the family’s continued participation in Chris’ rehabilitation is imperative in her recovery. It appears that the worst has passed, but she has a LONG road ahead of her. She will soon be transferred to an Acute Care Hospital about 1.5 hours away, where she will receive rehabilitation to help her walk, talk and complete activities of daily living again. At the moment, she can’t walk on her own and speaking is difficult for her. She has just begun to brush her own hair and teeth, but still needs help feeding herself. She also needs assistance with going to the bathroom on her own, a simple task that many take for granted. The family will need to travel to the new hospital every day to support her and be present for her rigorous therapy sessions. My dad and step-mom flew here from Hawaii and have taken a leave of absence from work and have helped absorb housing costs for the last two months. Drew has shown his unwavering commitment and love to Chris and has also taken a leave of absence from work. There has been no income for Drew and Chris in almost two months. They need your help in paying for their basic necessities and medical costs.
HOW YOUR DONATION WILL HELP:
• Medical bills
• Rehabilitation and after-care costs
• Housing
• Food
• Gas to the rehabilitation facility
No amount is too small. Any donation will be appreciated. If you are unable to donate, please share this on your social media.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Christie Antonio-Schmitz & Drew Schmitz, Jae & Coleen Antonio, my dad Clemente Antonio and my stepmom Vangie Barba
Co-organizers (2)
Jae Antonio
Organizer
Davis, CA
Coleen Antonio
Co-organizer