Help Samantha Laub pay for medical bills

Hi everyone! If you don’t know, my name is Bailey Laub and I’m writing this on behalf of my mom - Samantha Laub (she's not active on social media.) First, I want to thank everyone ahead of time for taking the time to read this. I understand that currently finances are tight, especially with the holidays coming up. So even if you can't donate, just sharing this is more than enough.

A little bit about my mom - she's been a hard-working single-mother for 15+ years, raising two girls the best way she possibly could. Along the way, she dealt with and still struggles with a multitude of health issues (i.e. Crohn's Disease, peptic ulcers and pancreatitis.) She's always made sure that my sister and I are well taken care of no matter how old we get. This is why I decided to start this GoFundMe for her.

At the beginning of September, my mom went into septic shock. Her health had been on a steady decline for a few months; however, we were unaware of how sick she truly was. A few days leading up to September 5th, spots started appearing on her arms and her behavior/emotions were all over the place. My mom has a doctor that she sees regularly and had already talked to him about moving forward with getting blood work and tests done. Her doctor mentioned that with the symptoms she was exhibiting that it could potentially be her thyroid (extreme weight loss, lack of appetite, swollen legs, flaky skin and losing her range of motion in her legs.)

On the night of the 3rd, my sister, my mom and I all said goodnight to each other like normal and everything was fine. The next day, she ended up sleeping most of the day and that wasn’t unusual for her because over the past year she had days where she slept for a good chunk of the day. She sat up here and there but again, we didn’t think too much of it because this has happened before. On the 5th, my sister Willow woke up to our mom in a catatonic state. No matter what we did, she would not respond. All she was able to do was sway back and forth, groaning in pain anytime we attempted to touch or move her. Willow and I had no clue what was wrong with her. We called 911 and once the paramedics showed up, we both thought that she would have eventually come to. That wasn’t the case. Once she arrived at the ER, the doctors told us that she had gone into septic shock. Now after everything is said and done, everyone concluded that it was most likely due to an untreated UTI.

For two weeks, we were unsure if she was going to make it. The doctors told us that if she were to survive, she needed a liver transplant and needed to be transferred to Allegheny General in Pittsburgh or a hospital in MD. Luckily, she was accepted at Allegheny which allowed my sister, our grandma and I could visit her when we were able to. Once there, the doctors let us know that she was in multi-organ failure, and they were unsure if she was even going to make it. After spending 10 days on the vent, doctors finally started seeing improvements in her tests and they took her off of sedation. Her breathing tube was finally removed, and she was moved off of the ICU. After a couple more weeks in the hospital, she was finally discharged from the hospital, but she still had a long recovery still ahead of her, including physical and occupation therapy. Due to having to sign her up for PA insurance and not WV, our family thought it would be best if she stayed with her parents while she was in therapy. With them, she was guaranteed to go therapy. If you know Sam, you know she is one of the most stubborn people you could meet, and she couldn’t say no to her parents. She was unable to walk without assistance and to this day, she still needs a mobility aid. That is also due to her falling and breaking her hip shortly after arriving at her parents’ home. Again, if anyone knows my mom, when she does something, she’s going to go all out for it.

Fast forward a few weeks, the hospital bills and her other bills start coming in and are starting to pile up. My mom’s doctor told her that she won’t be able to work for a while and that she should look into assistance, but we don’t know how long that process will take. This is where I ask those reading this, if they could donate even just a dollar towards my mom’s bills that would be greatly appreciated. Again, if you can’t donate, all I ask is if you could please share this.

I wish the best for everyone and hope that everyone has a great holiday season! And for those who have contact with their moms, make sure you tell her how much you love and appreciate her for everything she’s done for you.