Hi, my name is Lucinda Smith and I am reaching out to the universe and “Santa Claus” to hopefully give my best friend, Karina, and her family a Christmas filled with love, joy, and cherished memories. Karina and her husband Patrick have had a rough year. Patrick’s health is quickly declining. They have had to go to countless doctors appointments and have numerous tests done to see if he qualifies for a heart/lung transplant. They were recently told that it would be another six months before a decision is even made because at this time the doctors don’t believe he would survive the surgery because he has an unexplained blood abnormality. Patrick has had 10 heart attacks, a quadruple bypass, open heart surgery, 8 stents in his coronary arteries, and a lung resection. That’s a lot! The list of his medical issues is still longer. Patrick was already diagnosed with COPD when he ended up with COVID of which made his lungs so much worse that the doctors had to put him on oxygen. At first he only had to use the oxygen intermittently. As of March this year he is on oxygen 24/7. They had to get a bigger machine the day after Thanksgiving because the one he had just wasn’t getting him enough O2 anymore. Even with the oxygen he finds himself having to stand still to catch his breath after simply getting up out of bed. On the 28th of November they got the results from a CT scan that he had to have as a part of the testing he has to go through. They weren’t good. Not only does he have Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, but he also has pulmonary hypertension, subpleural nodules, atherosclerotic calcification, an enlarged spleen, kidney stones, cirrhosis of the liver, enlarged lymph nodes, ascites, and compression deformity at T11 and T12 in his spine. As if that weren’t enough for Patrick to be going through the doctors now also believe he has cancer and want to do more testing.

Patrick and Karina have been married for 29 years and have 3 children. Their oldest is Cody 28, then Shane 25, and the youngest is Allison (aka Alli) soon to turn 23. Alli is daddy’s little girl who was born with Angelman Syndrome. They have such a beautiful family and have been there for us.

I am sharing their story with you today in hopes that “we” can send Patrick and Karina to Missouri to see his elderly mother before he passes. Money raised would go towards covering the cost of a rental car and other travel expenses. It would also help them with the financial burden all of this has put on them.

Thank you for taking the time to read their story. Please, if you can, make a donation and help play Santa Claus and make this a wonderful Christmas despite all they have been through. These beautiful people need help!