Help Maria through her medical crisis

This GFM account is to ask for help for our mom, Maria, who has been in the ICU since September 15th, nearly 6 weeks now. It has been an agonizing experience for her, and for her family. Several times they told us she wasn’t going to make it … but with prayer vigils, faith, and not giving up, it appears she is going to survive – but for her, the journey is just beginning….. 

Our mom was admitted to St. Luke’s in Twin Falls, Idaho, for Covid-19, pneumonia and lung failure. 2 days later on the 17th, she was put on a ventilator – this requires them to put her into an induced coma with sedatives and paralytics. Over the next 2 weeks she developed ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) which makes the lungs turn “fibrotic” – essentially a hardening of the lungs.

On September 28th, she was LifeFlighted to the larger Nampa St. Luke’s. This transfer set her lungs back and caused her condition to worsen since they had to transfer her from one ventilator to another. Over the next week they told us she probably wasn’t going to make it…

But, by October 6th she had stabilized enough to undergo a procedure to transfer the ventilator from her mouth, to install it in her throat – this is called a tracheostomy. 

Family was not allowed inside the hospital,  and we were only able to be with our mom outside her hospital room window. For the first 2 weeks we held vigils and group prayer for at least 12 hours per day. 

Over time the doctors started to wean our mom off of sedation and the paralytics. The doctors grew very concerned that she wasn't “waking up” – they said her brain waves were showing lack of responsiveness and she wasn’t responding to verbal or physical stimulation. They told us she had hypoxic brain injury and said they weren’t sure that she would ever wake up, and they weren't sure if there was anything else they could do for her. 

Their last-ditch effort was to transfer her again to the St. Luke’s in downtown Boise – the only local facility that had neurological testing. This was on October 12th. They performed MRIs, CT scan, spinal tap, and ongoing EEG over the first week there. But while all results except for the EEG came back normal, the doctors were still not sure if she had brain function based on the EEG and her brain waves because she wasn’t waking up this long after being taken off of the sedatives and paralytics. 

They were telling us – again – that we should prepare ourselves to say our goodbyes. Our family, however, continued to pray and do A LOT of research and we felt that due to the Covid she just needed more time to wake up – that this was common for Covid patients that had been put in an induced coma. 

Miraculously, mom’s lungs have begun healing and by today (October 24th) she’s mostly breathing on her own with only a little help from the ventilator! Also this week, just as we had hoped, mom has begun responding to people once they started letting different family members talk to her for a short time. 

Anyone who knows mom knows she is not only a fighter, but she is strong. She is so determined and accomplishes anything and everything she puts her mind to. We knew that she would never give up on any of us, and we will not give up on her. 

Now, the doctors believe that if she continues this progress they can place her in a Rehab Hospital to begin recovery. They suspect mom will need 8 months to a year of rehab. 

If you only knew our mom personally:

Our mom, Maria, has always put others first. She has been a nurse for over 25 years and has dedicated her life to serving and helping others, from newborns to the elderly. She is utterly devoted to us (her 4 daughters and her 3 granddaughters with another on the way), husband, her family, and friends. She quit her job to care for her mother, during her 3 last months of life, in order to avoid putting her in a home. She has a strong spiritual testimony and loves God more than anything. Her faith is her anchor and relies on the Lord for strength, guidance and comfort. 

We are asking for prayers, positive thoughts, and at this time, financial assistance. Our mom had just bought her dream home, a humble little home in Twin Falls to be closer to her grandbabies, but she wasn't even able to be there a full month before getting sick. 

She comes from a poor background, and she has worked so hard for everything she has, and everything she has accomplished. We are asking for help so that our mom can keep her home. We need assistance to pay her monthly mortgage payments and utilities for at least the next 6 months to a year, as well as small car payment, groceries, medication and therapies - considering how long she will need extensive physical, speech and occupational rehab.  

It will take months and months to get approval for Social-Security and Disability Income, and the family is not able to make these payments for her. 

This is already going to be a hard and long recovery, and it is going to take a huge emotional toll on her knowing that she has lost her independence and ability to work, so we want to make it as less stressful as possible for her.

Anything helps, and we hope you know that it is truly, deeply appreciated.