
Help My Mom: Bacteria in Blood
My name is Yareheli Margarita Salinas, I am an Aggie and a registered nurse, the eldest of 3 children. I am requesting your help to pay for my mother's medical expenses which will be a total of $150,000. I know this is a huge sum of money and I can't even begin to imagine how we will be able to afford this. I also wish I didn't have to ask for money, but at this point, my mother's health is all that matters to us. My mom is my best friend, she is the matriarch of our family and our strength. We need any help we can get, my family and I would greatly appreciate any donation that you are able and willing to give.
My mother's story is as follows:
About a month ago, my mom got a boil on her elbow which seemed like nothing out of the ordinary, it was warm, red, and painful to touch. I advised my mom to get it checked, but she can be pretty stubborn, so she didn't at the time. Eventually, the boil popped and that was it. We thought nothing of it and we continued with our life. She did have fevers after that, but all she would do was take tylenol. About 3 weeks ago, my mother started complaining of having flank/back pain. I assessed her pain and found that she experienced excruciating pain at the slightest touch. I insisted it might be her kidney, but she wrote it off as a bad sleeping position. After this, we visited a doctor in Mexico which gave her a steroid shot and anti-inflammatory medicines since he said it was a muscular issue. My mother felt better, but felt sick again the next day. She went back to visit the doctor and he gave her the same treatment. My mother felt better again and then on a Friday she just did not seem her usual self. My mom is always very energetic, she's funny, and always up and moving. That day, she couldn't even get out of her bed. She was quiet, she looked red, and just didn't look well. My family and I decided to take her to to the emergency room after finding out her temperature was 103.8 degrees F. At the ER they took blood work, urine samples, CT scans, and X-rays. The tests showed a urine and kidney infection. The medical team decided to admit my mom to the hospital and start her on a regiment of strong antibiotics. They advised us that the stay would be one to two days. It hadn't been even 24 hours after being admitted that they found my mom has MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) in the blood, a bacteria known as staph that is very difficult to treat due to it being resistant to many antibiotic treatments such as penicillin.
After diagnosing her, the medical team brought in an infectious disease doctor which ordered an MRI of the neck and spine due to her extreme pain localized in her lower back and now neck. The doctor found there to also be an infection in the lumbar area (L3-L4). They proceeded to get another MRI with contrast which showed abscess in between her discs. My mother now needs surgery and 6-8 weeks of antibiotics and God knows how many weeks or months or rehabilitation therapy.
It is so hard to see my mom in so much pain because I know that she is so strong and has such high pain tolerance. Anyone who knows my mom knows how strong she is. She groans and moans, she cries and curls up because of how much pain she's in. My y mom is my everything and I really thought I was going to lose her. I cannot imagine and don't even want to think about the possibility of losing her. My mom doesn't have insurance at the moment and these medical bills are extremely high. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could help us. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post.