For those of you who are unaware, we first want to apologize for the lack of transparency regarding our mother’s health.

Some of you may know about the whirlwind that my siblings and I have gone through these last 4 months, regarding our mother, Carol, and her health.

We have had so many misdirected medical efforts and balls dropped by the medical facility treating her, we chose to stop updating on any changes as they were so frequent and often, not positive updates.

For those of you who know our mother, Carol, you are well aware that she is determined, stubborn, and a fighter. She is never one to ask for help and she is far too proud to admit any shortcomings. Her strength and perseverance are two qualities that we wholeheartedly believe, at this point, is what has kept her alive.

This has been proven time and time again throughout these last 4 months.

Throughout these last 4 months, my siblings and I have been told that she would not recover. We have experienced three near-death scares that caused us all to flood to Las Vegas just to be by her side.

Being told over and over again that she would never breathe on her own, never wake up, and that being completely dependent would be her new baseline.

Neither our mom nor we have chosen to listen or take the advice of the medical providers, who had repeatedly been proven wrong, throughout these last 4 months. We have continued to demand quality care for our mom and in the process, a transfer back to CA for her to continue treatment.

Carol was admitted into a Las Vegas hospital in late August, after suffering from respiratory challenges, as a result of two separate back fractures.

The medical facility treating her refused, time and time again, to address the fractures in her back, only being concerned with the respiratory issues that, for the most part, had been remedied.

She was pushed into rehab in order to gain mobility, all while continuing to suffer from a broken back. She struggled daily, for weeks, but ultimately pushed through.

As a family, we had been trying to get her transferred back to CA for upwards of two months, only to be told that an out-of-state transfer was not possible. Come to find out that this was anything but the truth and the facility’s case management team was simply choosing to not put in the efforts to make this happen.

Unfortunately, while waiting to get the transfer approved, our mom fell septic. While she should have been kept at the admitting facility for sepsis treatment for at least three weeks, she was transferred to a contracting facility for longer-term care.

Much to our protest with her being transferred, we were assured, time and time again that the new facility could meet her care needs. After only being in the new facility for four days, our mom went into septic shock and complete organ failure.

On the fourth day of her admittance, I received a call at 4:00 PM stating that our mom was being rushed back to the referring facility, as a result of respiratory distress. At 6:00 PM I received a call stating that they were having to intubate her and by 11:00 PM we were being told to get to Las Vegas as soon as possible because she was not going to make it much longer.

The 7-hour drive from CA to NV, at midnight, was the longest drive of mine and my siblings' lives. We had no idea what to expect, what we would be faced with, and how we would manage life without our mom.

For the next three days, we were met with everyone from pulmonologists to infectious disease doctors, to palliative care teams. We were told to remove life support, as our mom would not recover.

This would be the first time she proved them wrong. That night at midnight she woke up, after having been comatose for three days prior. She was responding to us and rolling her eyes in annoyance at the doctor’s comments.

This was the start of her long road to recovering from this horrendous ordeal.

While weaning from intubation was unsuccessful 3 times, our mother opted for more significant medical intervention and requested to have a tracheostomy to assist with breathing.

As a result of organ failure, our mom’s kidneys were not functioning on their own and she required daily dialysis treatments to maintain renal balance. This would be the second time that she would prove them wrong. As of two weeks ago, she is no longer requiring dialysis, as her kidneys have returned to a baseline level of functioning.

Throughout the next few weeks, we were met with multiple surgeries that were needed including a feeding tube, permacath for dialysis, a VCF device to prevent blood clots from traveling to her lungs and heart, numerous wound debridements, and wound care, in addition to the tracheostomy.

While we have had small steps towards progress, there are still a lot of treatments that will be required and intervention that will be needed.

Due to the experience we have had, in an attempt to get our mom ethical and quality health care, with medical facilities in Las Vegas, we are no longer willing to agree to any sort of long-term care, anywhere but in California.

Our trust and our faith in the current facilities’ efforts to rehabilitate our mother are far from absent at this point and we just want her closer to home so that we can more closely monitor her care.

Unfortunately, given that her care is no longer considered to be on an emergency basis, insurance will not cover to transport her home to California.

In her current state, our mom still requires ventilation support through a trach, which requires specialized ground transportation or MediAir transport via helicopter.

While we have had to prepare ourselves for many things throughout this surreal ordeal, the astronomical medical expense to transport her home was not one of them.

We have identified a care facility that we are satisfied with and who is willing to accept the transfer. The only concern now is the specialized transportation.

Our mom would never be okay knowing that we have reached out for support, as she has always been too proud and independent to do that at any time throughout her life. But we also know how many people's lives she’s touched and how much she cares for all of you, just as you do her.

While we are unsure what the long-term outcome might be, we want to actively start making movements towards some sort of recovery.

We want to thank you all, from the bottoms of our hearts, for anything that can be contributed.

We love you all and we are so fortunate to have you all be a part of ours and our mom’s life.