Grace Directo (Bards) Medical Recovery and Support

Everyone knows our mom, Grace Directo aka Tita Bards, as the life of the party. No matter where she goes, she shines a positive light in the room. She goes out of her way for others no matter what. On July 1, our mom tested positive for COVID-19 while in San Luis Obispo and was admitted into the ICU. She was experiencing shortness of breath and receiving oxygen, but was still stable even after being diagnosed with viral pneumonia. Several days later her health became progressively worse, and by July 7 our mom was put on a ventilator with sedatives to keep her comfortable. Now, our mom is fighting for her life. Just as she seemed to be improving, our mom needed a tracheotomy on July 24. The surgery went well and isolation was lifted for her a week later and she remained stable. Unfortunately, things then took a turn for the worse and she suffered a small stroke that affected her occipital and cerebral lobes. There was a small hemorrhage and the doctors told us that it’s likely that she will have blindness in her right eye. She also developed an A-Fib rhythm which requires her to be on blood thinners. As many of her family and friends know, our mom is also a breast cancer survivor. She successfully beat it on May 25, 2011, and we know how much strength she has in her. We still don’t have a clear answer as to when our mom will wake up. We’re at a critical time period where we can only watch and stay on top of her progress. The amazing staff at French medical center ICU in SLO is working diligently to help her heal, and we are so grateful for them. Our mom’s road to recovery will be long, and we have no idea what it will look like and how much it will cost. So far, her out-of-pocket medical expenses are roughly $30-50k depending on her stay, some of our friends and family have asked how they can help support our family. If you would like to help our mom and contribute to her hospital bills as well as potential long-term care, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much and we love you all. Feel free to call me, I'm available all day. [phone redacted] Cody Salter