Help for the To'afa's

As many of you know, my sister, Kathryn To'afa, suffered a medical emergency at the beginning of July. Sau, Kat, and the boys had been visiting Sau's family in American Samoa this summer. Kat began complaining of a headache and told Sau she was going to lie down to rest. Shortly after, Sau received a text message from Kat that didn't make sense, so he went to check on her. Sau immediately knew something wasn't right and called EMS to have her transported to the hospital. Kat was having difficulty with words, forgetting simple things, and had a hard time following simple commands. She also had complaints of a severe headache. Unfortunately the CT machine at the only hospital in American Samoa was broken, so the best they could do for diagnostics was bloodwork and x-rays. After 4 days at the hospital in American Samoa, Kat was transferred to Hawaii via a private Medevac company set up by the family. Once she arrived in Hawaii, she finally began getting the medical care she needed. Imaging revealed she had a large blood clot in her brain that was preventing blood flow to the left side of her brain. She underwent surgery to remove as much of the blood clot as was safely possible, but damage had already been done. Kat was hospitalized for 2 weeks in Hawaii and is currently awaiting their flight to bring them back home to Texas. She has made remarkable progress so far, but has a long road of recovery ahead in regaining her speech and thought processing.

While your thoughts, prayers, and love is more than we could ever ask for - the family will definitely take all the help they can get financially, as you can imagine the expenses are piling up. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your love, prayers, and help provided through this difficult time.

Leslie Shields