Donations Needed for Nicole Barrera & Matt Galloup

On November 1, 2023, Nicole Barrera and Matt Galloup experienced one of the most joyous moments of their lives, giving birth to their healthy baby boy, Austin. The blissful feelings, however, came to an abrupt halt just 2 hours later.

While enjoying their newborn and their first bonding experience, Nicole abruptly passed out and stopped breathing. She flatlined. Matt stood in the hall with his baby in his arms watching the medical staff scramble to try to revive Nicole. For 5 long, treacherous minutes, Nicole’s life hung in the balance while Matt looked on, scared and helpless. Finally, the staff was able to revive her but the damage had been done and Nicole was not out of the woods yet.

For 5 minutes she received no oxygen to her brain. There was fluid in her lungs and swelling in her brain. She transferred to the ICU where she remained on life support— a machine breathing for her, a catheter in her brain to reduce swelling, and fluid in her lungs causing pneumonia. Her life still remained in the balance.

Nicole was airlifted from Ventura to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara where she received top-notch neurological care. If she survived, they expected her to have severe brain damage.

Fortunately, and AMAZINGLY, her brain began to reduce swelling! After just 3 days, she opened her eyes! She’s awake, breathing on her own, and her memory and functions are slowly improving. And now, there is optimism for a recovery with only slight brain damage! While she still has a ways to go with physical therapy, Nicole is going to be able to watch baby Austin grow alongside her incredibly strong partner, Matt!

We are reaching out for assistance in raising funds for Nicole, Matt, and their new family. The medical bills are expected to be extremely high due to the severity of this medical emergency. The helicopter transfer alone will be financially draining. While we are grateful to have Nicole with us, we humbly ask for support as her and her family face the challenging journey ahead. Anything helps!

Life is delicate and precious. We hope you enjoy the coming holidays with the people you love. We’re just lucky we’ll get to enjoy them with Nicole and that she will be able to enjoy her first holiday season with her new family.

Thank you for reading!