My name is Meghan and I am fundraising on behalf of my mother, Sharon Connell.

 

Sharon worked in California as a travel nurse. She was supposed to come back up to Washington for the holidays on December 9th. She was staying with a family friend for a few days when she wasn't feeling well and had her friend call 911 the morning of December 8th. She contracted an infection that made its way into her blood stream. Her body was in septic shock. She has been in the ICU ever since.

 

As of January 3rd, she continues to make progress but slowly. She had a lot of things going on when she went in but she is fighting. They performed a tracheostomy last week in order to remove intubation and further protect her airway. She still needs a ventilator but she is doing well with her breathing trials and they hope to have her off of it soon. Her kidneys are working on their own and she no longer needs dialysis. She still continues to need medication to maintain her blood pressure. Unfortunately, she is not completely awake yet. She opens her eyes, grimaces, and moves her body but not on command. Her previous MRI's have not shown anything of concern. At this point we continue to take it day by day and pray that she will be filled with life once more.

 

Once she is off the ventilator completely, they are looking at transferring her to a long term care/rehabilitation facility to help her get back to "normal" although we don't know what that new normal will look like. We are hoping to get her transferred up here to Washington so she can be near her children and grandchildren.

 

My mom is a selfless woman, beautiful inside and out. She always took care of others, took others in, gave more than she could, and always gave people the benefit of the doubt. She always believed in us, rooted for us, and never gave up on us. She was always there even when we didn't know we needed her. She was a single mom to me and my brother and then she was a single mom to two of her grandchildren who are still minors and in her care. She has worked her butt off her entire life for everyone else and it's our turn to make sure she is taken care of properly.

 

Without going into logistics, we need help. Not only do certain parts of her life need to be maintained but the medical bills have already started showing up. Unfortunately life around her and us doesn't stop and the heartache of it all is hard enough. With the uncertainty still surrounding her health and future needs we ask for your help in any way shape or form.

 

Whether you are a person of faith or not, we ask for your continued thoughts and prayers for her healing and strength to overcome yet another battle that has been put in her path.

 

With love and appreciation from her children and grandchildren, we thank you.