Valerie's Medical & Accident Costs
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I started this gofundme page for my niece...It’s kind of a long story, so please bear with me.
In April 2013, my niece, Valerie and her husband Steven welcomed their second baby girl Keelie, into the world. Shortly after the birth, Valerie began having seizures. She was transported from Sonora Hospital to a hospital in Modesto, CA where they found that she had a brain tumor the size of an egg. Luckily, the tumor was benign; however, it was still dangerous and needed to be removed. Unfortunately, due to the tumor location, doctors were unable to remove it 100% and Valerie was told that she would need radiation treatment after she was released from the hospital.
For the first month after her baby was born, Valerie remained in the hospital, unable to care for her brand new baby girl. She also lost movement in her right leg and had to re-learn how to walk. Her husband was forced to miss work to care for their two children and they struggled financially during this time due to lost wages, prescription medicines and medical bills. However, somehow, they managed to get thru that time. But unfortunately, due to the added financial hardship Valerie was unable to undergo the much needed radiation therapy.
In January 2014 Valerie went back to work as a Veterinary Assistant. Things started looking up for her and her family. In January 2015, Valerie and her husband learned that they would soon be welcoming baby number 3! They were excited to be adding a new member to their family, but also knew the potential danger this pregnancy held due to Valerie not knowing the status of her tumor. And now since she was pregnant, they were unable to perform the proper scans to know if her tumor had started to grow back. But she was monitored closely during the entire pregnancy.
On the evening of August 7th, in Sonora, CA, Valerie, and her family attended a Celebration of Life for a beloved family member. As they walked to their car, which was parked next to the road, a man sped past them at a high rate of speed. Val's husband yelled at him to slow down, as his entire family was on the road attempting to get into their vehicle. The person driving the car suddenly slammed on the brakes and put his car in reverse, hit the throttle and accelerated towards Steven who was holding their 2 year old. Luckily he was able to jump out of the way, but this person continued on without slowing down and then proceeded to hit Valerie who was 37 weeks pregnant. He hit her with enough force that she was thrown 15 feet, landing on her pregnant belly. He then continued on his rampage and hit a parked car, pinning their 11 year old daughter, Kimi who fortunately only suffered minor scrapes, bruises, but also had to witness her mother get hit. The person then fled the scene.
By the Grace of God, everyone survived. Their daughter was treated with minor injuries at the local hospital and released, but Valerie suffered major injuries and was transported to a trauma center suffering a brain hemorrhage, a spinal vertebrae fracture, her Kidney was badly damaged and she was at risk of losing her kidney, a ruptured ear drum, a broken toe, terrible road rash, a possible rupture of her placenta and pubic bone separation, which caused her excruciating pain. However, the unborn baby was ok. They monitored both Valerie and baby for weeks and then finally on August 30th, little Addy was welcomed into the world and she is happy and healthy. And after nearly a month in the hospital, due to her injuries, Valerie was finally able to go home. But unfortunately, once again, Valerie would struggle because it was difficult to care for her newborn baby because she was still suffering from her injuries. For weeks after the accident, once she was able to get up, she could only get around with the use of a walker. But between her husband, sister, mom and other family members, they managed to get through those first few months. Although they did not want to ask for help, we set up a go-fund-me page to help them get through their difficult time. We managed to raise about $2,700 in a few days and that helped them a little, but not nearly enough.
After an investigation, we learned who was responsible for this horrific felony hit and run, but we shall not name him. But this person has not served a single day behind bars. Days after the accident, he turned himself in and within hours, was released on $40,000 bail. He and his lawyers have been in court numerous times, asking for one continuance after another. In the meantime, his insurance is not paying and Valerie’s bills mount and her medical issues continue.
This brings us to present day. After the accident and after the birth of Addy, Dcctors were able to determine that Valerie’s brain tumor had grown back and she once again started experiencing symptoms.
She was just recently admited to UCSF for a week where they performed VET testing to monitor any seizure activity from her previous brain tumor surgery in 2013. If seizure activity is detected, the test will help determine what part of the brain they are coming from and how often, as well as, how strong they are and the treatment will help her avoid seizure activity. Her new brain tumor also can't be removed 100%. It’s growing off the main artery that runs through the brain and feeds the entire body. Surgery is a not an option since it's impossible to remove it completely and puts her at risk of damaging the artery, which could lead to her bleeding to death. The other down side is that the larger it gets, the more the artery is constricted, which could lead to a fatal stroke. Veins to the artery are already blocked off. This is causing more brain irritation as well as irritation where the tumor is growing off the artery.
Valerie must have radiation. It could be a 2 day session or as long as 30 days. This means driving to UCSF every day back to back to have treatment. Valerie and her family live in Sonora, CA. UCSF is a long way from home. The closest she can get to having a long term place to stay, is in San Jose, with her Mom. But again, that will mean lost income again.
On top of all this…the auto insurance of the person responsible is refusing to pay more than $60,000 for everything! That's $30,000 for Valerie and another $30,000 divided up between her husband, daughter and Mother-in-law. The problem is that Valerie won’t see any of that money because her health insurance has a lien on her half of the policy/award so she won't see any of that money.
Her total bills so far are around $365,000. However, because her award is so little, her lawyer will negotiate with the hospital as far as payment and anything left over (if any) won’t even be enough to cover the legal fees and out of pocket expenses they have already incurred from the accident which is over $12,000.00. In the meantime, this guy is out on bail, living his life, and not paying for what he’s done.
On top of their struggles, the out of pocket expense for her travels to UCSF and the upcoming radiation, medications, and seizure treatment will be $12,600.
My hope is that at the very least, we can raise enough money so that they can continue to pay their living expenses/bills during her treatment.
However, it would be most helpful if we could raise enough money, that we could get her a used vehicle, large enough to accommodate her family. Currently, they have one working vehicle. But unfortunately, it’s not large enough to fit 2 adults and 3 children (2 who must be in car seats). So for them to travel anywhere as a family is impossible.
I’ve included a link to an article in the paper…
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/UnionDemocrat/LocalNews/story.csp?cid=3809289&sid=753&fid=151#
I’m just praying that I can get Valerie and her family some help. They are very proud people and they never ask for help. She is one of the most kind-hearted, generous, thoughtful people I know. She’s beautiful inside and out. So I’m happy to do whatever I can to help them get the help they need (if I can).
I’m hoping for a miracle for them.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Your donation will be so appreciated. And if you are unable to donate, positive thoughts and prayers are appreciated just as much. And please keep sharing... <3
In April 2013, my niece, Valerie and her husband Steven welcomed their second baby girl Keelie, into the world. Shortly after the birth, Valerie began having seizures. She was transported from Sonora Hospital to a hospital in Modesto, CA where they found that she had a brain tumor the size of an egg. Luckily, the tumor was benign; however, it was still dangerous and needed to be removed. Unfortunately, due to the tumor location, doctors were unable to remove it 100% and Valerie was told that she would need radiation treatment after she was released from the hospital.
For the first month after her baby was born, Valerie remained in the hospital, unable to care for her brand new baby girl. She also lost movement in her right leg and had to re-learn how to walk. Her husband was forced to miss work to care for their two children and they struggled financially during this time due to lost wages, prescription medicines and medical bills. However, somehow, they managed to get thru that time. But unfortunately, due to the added financial hardship Valerie was unable to undergo the much needed radiation therapy.
In January 2014 Valerie went back to work as a Veterinary Assistant. Things started looking up for her and her family. In January 2015, Valerie and her husband learned that they would soon be welcoming baby number 3! They were excited to be adding a new member to their family, but also knew the potential danger this pregnancy held due to Valerie not knowing the status of her tumor. And now since she was pregnant, they were unable to perform the proper scans to know if her tumor had started to grow back. But she was monitored closely during the entire pregnancy.
On the evening of August 7th, in Sonora, CA, Valerie, and her family attended a Celebration of Life for a beloved family member. As they walked to their car, which was parked next to the road, a man sped past them at a high rate of speed. Val's husband yelled at him to slow down, as his entire family was on the road attempting to get into their vehicle. The person driving the car suddenly slammed on the brakes and put his car in reverse, hit the throttle and accelerated towards Steven who was holding their 2 year old. Luckily he was able to jump out of the way, but this person continued on without slowing down and then proceeded to hit Valerie who was 37 weeks pregnant. He hit her with enough force that she was thrown 15 feet, landing on her pregnant belly. He then continued on his rampage and hit a parked car, pinning their 11 year old daughter, Kimi who fortunately only suffered minor scrapes, bruises, but also had to witness her mother get hit. The person then fled the scene.
By the Grace of God, everyone survived. Their daughter was treated with minor injuries at the local hospital and released, but Valerie suffered major injuries and was transported to a trauma center suffering a brain hemorrhage, a spinal vertebrae fracture, her Kidney was badly damaged and she was at risk of losing her kidney, a ruptured ear drum, a broken toe, terrible road rash, a possible rupture of her placenta and pubic bone separation, which caused her excruciating pain. However, the unborn baby was ok. They monitored both Valerie and baby for weeks and then finally on August 30th, little Addy was welcomed into the world and she is happy and healthy. And after nearly a month in the hospital, due to her injuries, Valerie was finally able to go home. But unfortunately, once again, Valerie would struggle because it was difficult to care for her newborn baby because she was still suffering from her injuries. For weeks after the accident, once she was able to get up, she could only get around with the use of a walker. But between her husband, sister, mom and other family members, they managed to get through those first few months. Although they did not want to ask for help, we set up a go-fund-me page to help them get through their difficult time. We managed to raise about $2,700 in a few days and that helped them a little, but not nearly enough.
After an investigation, we learned who was responsible for this horrific felony hit and run, but we shall not name him. But this person has not served a single day behind bars. Days after the accident, he turned himself in and within hours, was released on $40,000 bail. He and his lawyers have been in court numerous times, asking for one continuance after another. In the meantime, his insurance is not paying and Valerie’s bills mount and her medical issues continue.
This brings us to present day. After the accident and after the birth of Addy, Dcctors were able to determine that Valerie’s brain tumor had grown back and she once again started experiencing symptoms.
She was just recently admited to UCSF for a week where they performed VET testing to monitor any seizure activity from her previous brain tumor surgery in 2013. If seizure activity is detected, the test will help determine what part of the brain they are coming from and how often, as well as, how strong they are and the treatment will help her avoid seizure activity. Her new brain tumor also can't be removed 100%. It’s growing off the main artery that runs through the brain and feeds the entire body. Surgery is a not an option since it's impossible to remove it completely and puts her at risk of damaging the artery, which could lead to her bleeding to death. The other down side is that the larger it gets, the more the artery is constricted, which could lead to a fatal stroke. Veins to the artery are already blocked off. This is causing more brain irritation as well as irritation where the tumor is growing off the artery.
Valerie must have radiation. It could be a 2 day session or as long as 30 days. This means driving to UCSF every day back to back to have treatment. Valerie and her family live in Sonora, CA. UCSF is a long way from home. The closest she can get to having a long term place to stay, is in San Jose, with her Mom. But again, that will mean lost income again.
On top of all this…the auto insurance of the person responsible is refusing to pay more than $60,000 for everything! That's $30,000 for Valerie and another $30,000 divided up between her husband, daughter and Mother-in-law. The problem is that Valerie won’t see any of that money because her health insurance has a lien on her half of the policy/award so she won't see any of that money.
Her total bills so far are around $365,000. However, because her award is so little, her lawyer will negotiate with the hospital as far as payment and anything left over (if any) won’t even be enough to cover the legal fees and out of pocket expenses they have already incurred from the accident which is over $12,000.00. In the meantime, this guy is out on bail, living his life, and not paying for what he’s done.
On top of their struggles, the out of pocket expense for her travels to UCSF and the upcoming radiation, medications, and seizure treatment will be $12,600.
My hope is that at the very least, we can raise enough money so that they can continue to pay their living expenses/bills during her treatment.
However, it would be most helpful if we could raise enough money, that we could get her a used vehicle, large enough to accommodate her family. Currently, they have one working vehicle. But unfortunately, it’s not large enough to fit 2 adults and 3 children (2 who must be in car seats). So for them to travel anywhere as a family is impossible.
I’ve included a link to an article in the paper…
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/UnionDemocrat/LocalNews/story.csp?cid=3809289&sid=753&fid=151#
I’m just praying that I can get Valerie and her family some help. They are very proud people and they never ask for help. She is one of the most kind-hearted, generous, thoughtful people I know. She’s beautiful inside and out. So I’m happy to do whatever I can to help them get the help they need (if I can).
I’m hoping for a miracle for them.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Your donation will be so appreciated. And if you are unable to donate, positive thoughts and prayers are appreciated just as much. And please keep sharing... <3
Organizer and beneficiary
Renee C Jensen-Perales
Organizer
Sonora, CA
Valerie Yaple
Beneficiary