Hi, I'm Faith, and my mom is Tracey O'Malley. She is currently fighting what doctors think is Guillain-Barré syndrome. I'm raising money to help my parents with medical bills, future modifications to their home, and loss of income as my dad takes time to care for my mom as she recovers.

On Friday, January 14th, my mom woke up feeling fine. She had a typical day, but around 11:00 pm, she mentioned to my dad that her neck hurt. Both of them thought that was a bit odd but just brushed it off. By 3:00 am that night, she called for help because she could not get up and slurred her words. She was rushed to the ER with what we thought was a stroke.

The ER found no sign of stroke, but she had COVID (despite being vaccinated and boosted), a couple of infections, and they suspected she had blood clots. While waiting for a bed in the hospital, she suddenly started to have trouble breathing. They initially put her on oxygen, but she started struggling to breathe again about an hour later. They put her on a ventilator and moved her to the ICU, where she has remained since Saturday, January 15th.

After running countless tests, the doctors have tentatively diagnosed and started treating her for Guillain-Barré syndrome. According to the Mayo Clinic, Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare disorder where the immune system attacks the nerves, causing paralysis. In my mom's case, she is completely paralyzed. Luckily, she can still move her eyes, and we can communicate with her through her eyes by asking her yes or no questions. As you can probably imagine, being completely aware of what is happening but not being able to move or speak is terrifying.

Doctors have started her on treatment for Guillain-Barré syndrome, and she should regain her ability to move and speak eventually. However, she will likely be hospitalized for many months, and she recovers and undergoes therapies to increase her mobility and speech again.

This will be a long journey for my mom and the rest of my family, and unfortunatly it will also be an expensive one. So I'm raising money to help cover my mom's medical expenses, replace the income from any work my dad will miss, and cover any future costs related to my mom's recovery.