Support Sara's transition to independence

Update November 2022:

Thank you to everyone for their continued generosity. The outpouring of support has been tremendous, both initially and then again as Sara transitioned home. The last stretch of fundraising paid for mobility improvements to the house and round-the-clock care as she and Don readjusted.

In the last few weeks, Sara has been able to decrease the number of in-home care hours as she no longer requires overnight support. However, she still relies on daily in-home care for transportation to therapy sessions, her therapy "homework", and support and security as she pushes herself to extend her abilities.

Sara has set herself both the short-term (2-month) goal of walking around the house unattended and the longer-term (6-month) goal of increased independence by her next evaluation with her therapy and care teams. Her in-house aide is vital to these activities, but unfortunately not covered by insurance. Even pared down, the weekly cost is substantial - roughly $1,800 a week.

So that we can support the aide for another 3-4 months (assuming a continued tapering off of her needs), we have extended the fundraising goal another $25k to encourage continued contributions as you are able.

At the very end of this message, you will also find information about one of the fundraisers and her relationship with Sara and her family. Feel free to contact any of us with questions. Karen Graubart, Alexandra Guisinger, Julie Hiipakka, and Christina Wolbrecht.

Update August 2022:

Thank you to everyone for their generosity. In our initial fundraiser to support Sara’s family while they supported Sara’s recovery, we set a goal of $1000 and received 25 times that amount (almost $25k). We are incredibly grateful for people’s generosity as at the time we did not foresee even the immediate expenses. As of July, the bulk of that money has been used to pay for uncovered medical expenses such as ambulances (over $6000 alone), co-pays, and housing Sara’s husband Don near Sara’s out-of-town facilities (in Crown Point and Goshen).

Entering August, we foresee a new set of expenses in order to get Sara back to her house. We are asking for an additional $25,000. As a result, we have changed the goal to $50k (the original $25k raised plus the additional $25k, we are now requesting.) For more detail on how the next set of funding will be used, please read the message below. At the end of this message, you will also find information about one of the fundraisers and her relationship to Sara and her family. Feel free to contact any of us with questions. Karen Graubart, Alexandra Guisinger, Julie Hiipakka, and Christina Wolbrecht.

July 31 Help Sara get home

While plans are subject to change based on her progress, Sara is likely to return to South Bend — and to her home — mid August. Sara’s return home is an exciting milestone; understandably, her medical team requires that her house be ready and safe, and that arrangements have been made for Sara’s care prior to her discharge. This is an opportunity for all Sara’s friends, colleagues and extended family to help by donating via GoFundMe. Our goal is to raise an additional $25,000 by mid-August to support Sara’s return home.

Sara is scheduled to transfer to Shirley Ryan on Wednesday (August 3). She will have 7-14 days of intense inpatient rehabilitation, consisting of 3-6 hours per day of therapy sessions. She will receive speech and physical therapy as well as practice activities of daily living in an effort to prepare her for returning home. Don will participate in these therapy sessions to continue to learn how to support Sara in her recovery. She would then be sent home to continue intensive outpatient speech, physical and occupational therapy several days per week, with caregiving needed at home for her continued recovery and safety. Here are more details on what is needed, and how your contributions would be used:

Home modifications and medical equipment: Don and the family have begun the significant effort to prepare the house for Sara’s return. This will involve purchasing/renting medical equipment (wheelchair, hospital bed, etc), installing a ramp at the front entrance, and modifications to the bathrooms such as grab bars and accessible bathing. We’ll provide more details on the costs once the estimates are in.

Home care: On the advice of Sara’s medical team we’ve secured 24/7 caregivers to start as soon as Sara returns home at a cost of $5,000 per week. As many of you are aware, Don’s own limitations mean he is unable to care for Sara by himself. Caregivers will help Sara with the activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, functional mobility, using the telephone), cook meals, clean the house, transport her to her many medical appointments and therapy sessions, and provide assistance as Sara works towards more independence. Home care is not paid by insurance, nor will Sara’s insurance cover additional time in a skilled nursing facility.

Thank you for your support. The family has greatly appreciated the prior contributions which have been used to cover medical expenses not covered by insurance such as the ambulance costs and hotel costs to allow Don to be near her at the out-of-town skilled nursing facilities.

Please contribute as you are able and help spread the word to others who know and love Sara.

Go Fund Me has asked one of the fundraisers to serve as the primary account holder and to supply the following additional details:

1. The primary holder of this account is Alexandra Guisinger. You can contact me at [email redacted] or [email redacted] and verify my identity at https://liberalarts.temple.edu/academics/faculty/guisinger-alexandra

2. I live in Philadelphia but am in contact with Don and Sara's family daily.

3. Sara and I first met in the summer of 2004 at Notre Dame. She hosted my baby shower, and I danced at her wedding to Don. Our families grew up together until mine moved to Philadelphia. Since then she has provided me with snark, Sister Michael memes, and cheerleading daily via a text stream including Christina and Karen (listed above).

4. As listed above, the original funds were used for emerging expenses to uncovered medical costs, legal costs, and to allow her husband to stay near her at out-of-town facilities. The next set of funding will be used to cover adaptations to her house (rails, ramps, etc) and the 24-hour home care help that Sara will initially require as she transitions from rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities to her home.

5. Because the parties supporting Sara and her household are diverse, I have created a banking account to receive payments from Go Fund Me and then in turn to pay bills as they arise. For transparency, I have created a shared google spreadsheet visible to Don and his family, two of Sara's siblings (Travis and Laren), and the other fundraisers (Karen, Julie, and Christina) so they can see all the payments I have made from the account and have access to the invoices.