Christine and Sean’s Journey to Healing

What do you imagine for a young couple who is still buzzing from a gorgeous wedding surrounded by so much love? A picture-perfect honeymoon in Italy. When our friend and family member Christine was hospitalized with a serious infection and needed to have emergency surgery, those dreams were taken away. Starting as mild abdominal pain on the flight to Italy which increased slowly each day, a manageable fever came next while in Rome. However, the pain became unbearable and the fever extremely dangerous their second day in Positano. Christine was taken from the hospital near where they were staying to another hospital in Naples which was a bus and train ride away. What was originally thought to be appendicitis turned out to be something so much worse. They had no choice but to perform life-saving surgery. Sean was allowed to be with Christine the night of this unexpected emergency surgery, but since then he has only been allowed to be by her side during visiting hours. As you can imagine we are anxiously waiting for news on when Christine will get approval from doctors that she is healthy enough to make her way home. They were supposed to fly home on October 10, but doctors want to keep her under observation until they are confident she is strong enough to get home safely. Money raised for Christine and Sean will be used for these unexpected medical expenses, unplanned extended stay, additional travel expenses, and lost time from work. Christine and Sean are two of the most thoughtful, loving people and never want to be a burden to others. We know as time progresses they will turn this pain into a gift. We’d appreciate it if you could help us support this family by donating. My name is Natasha Botke, a close friend who was in the wedding party. Both Christine and Sean are now aware of our fundraising efforts on their behalf. They extend their gratitude to every one of you! Sean has asked me to withdraw funds on their behalf so I can do a transfer to their accounts more easily. While they are still in Italy we do not want to exchange financial information and do not want to add to the number of things he needs to work on while there. I have opened a separate bank account strictly for this fundraiser.