Serena's new mother Covid recovery fund!
Donation protected
My name is Alicia Torres and I am raising money for my twin sister Serena, and her 6-month-old baby girl Alessandra.
On October 5th, 2020, my pregnant twin sister Serena Torres contracted COVID-19 and was shortly after admitted to Orange County Regional Hospital. As a 28 year old newlywed with an active lifestyle, she could not have predicted that her condition would deteriorate so rapidly. She was transferred to Westchester Medical Hospital where a team of doctors and nurses fought to save both her and her baby. She was only six months pregnant at the time.
Her health waned and she was placed in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) due to lung failure. The doctors were forced to perform an emergency C-section while Serena was in a medically induced coma. Dr. Chandy reported to ABC News that twenty years ago, they would not have had the technology to save her and the baby. She was treated with ventilation, Veno-arterial ECMO (life support), dialysis, and other experimental treatments. Her newborn daughter Alessandra Rose was just below her in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but they were not able to unite until months later. Serena officially met her daughter on February 17th, four months after Alessandra was born.
There were many times during Serena's treatment that doctors would tell us that her survival odds were low, but that they would do everything they could to save her. We organized zoom meetings to talk to her and pray with her while she was in a coma, and visit her in person as often as the hospital would allow. On our birthday, which was November 5th, I remember going and singing to her. We have always celebrated our birthday together and this one was no different. Watching as her organs failed one-by-one, while the baby got better and better, was one of the most emotional, difficult times that our family has gone through.
Miraculously, she and her baby were able to go home, but this is just the beginning of her long recovery. Serena is now an amputee, having lost all of her toes. She requires wheelchair due to nerve damage in all four limbs. She suffers from spino-stenosis, memory loss, and frontal lobe and executive function deficits. My sister is determined to walk again. Her dream is to one day be able to walk, play, and run with her baby girl.
Aside from Serena's medical recovery, she is challenged financially. As a speech pathologist she lived to help others overcome physical challenges. Now, because of COVID-19, she is unable to work, drive, walk, and requires assistance in everyday activities including caring for her new baby. Further, she has medical bills for dozens of surgeries and a 6 month long hospital stay. If you find it in your heart to donate, every dollar would go towards the following necessities:
· Medical bills - For her and her baby's 6 months of hospital stays and life saving treatments
· Ongoing physical and occupational therapy costs
· Prosthetics for both feet to balance and walk
· Child care costs
· Any unused funds (if any) will be donated to other covid patients or charity
Doctors say her rehabilitation could take years. This is the hardest thing this family has ever gone through, and we will be forever grateful for any help you can provide. Thank you for all your prayers, encouraging words, facebook shares, donations, and well wishes!
You can learn more about her story from News 12 NY and CBS here:
https://bronx.news12.com/she-had-a-baby-while-in-a-covid-19-related-coma-now-shes-celebrating-her-1st-mothers-day
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/05/07/mother-survives-covid-finally-hugs-daughter-4-months-after-giving-birth-during-medically-induced-coma/
On October 5th, 2020, my pregnant twin sister Serena Torres contracted COVID-19 and was shortly after admitted to Orange County Regional Hospital. As a 28 year old newlywed with an active lifestyle, she could not have predicted that her condition would deteriorate so rapidly. She was transferred to Westchester Medical Hospital where a team of doctors and nurses fought to save both her and her baby. She was only six months pregnant at the time.
Her health waned and she was placed in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) due to lung failure. The doctors were forced to perform an emergency C-section while Serena was in a medically induced coma. Dr. Chandy reported to ABC News that twenty years ago, they would not have had the technology to save her and the baby. She was treated with ventilation, Veno-arterial ECMO (life support), dialysis, and other experimental treatments. Her newborn daughter Alessandra Rose was just below her in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but they were not able to unite until months later. Serena officially met her daughter on February 17th, four months after Alessandra was born.
There were many times during Serena's treatment that doctors would tell us that her survival odds were low, but that they would do everything they could to save her. We organized zoom meetings to talk to her and pray with her while she was in a coma, and visit her in person as often as the hospital would allow. On our birthday, which was November 5th, I remember going and singing to her. We have always celebrated our birthday together and this one was no different. Watching as her organs failed one-by-one, while the baby got better and better, was one of the most emotional, difficult times that our family has gone through.
Miraculously, she and her baby were able to go home, but this is just the beginning of her long recovery. Serena is now an amputee, having lost all of her toes. She requires wheelchair due to nerve damage in all four limbs. She suffers from spino-stenosis, memory loss, and frontal lobe and executive function deficits. My sister is determined to walk again. Her dream is to one day be able to walk, play, and run with her baby girl.
Aside from Serena's medical recovery, she is challenged financially. As a speech pathologist she lived to help others overcome physical challenges. Now, because of COVID-19, she is unable to work, drive, walk, and requires assistance in everyday activities including caring for her new baby. Further, she has medical bills for dozens of surgeries and a 6 month long hospital stay. If you find it in your heart to donate, every dollar would go towards the following necessities:
· Medical bills - For her and her baby's 6 months of hospital stays and life saving treatments
· Ongoing physical and occupational therapy costs
· Prosthetics for both feet to balance and walk
· Child care costs
· Any unused funds (if any) will be donated to other covid patients or charity
Doctors say her rehabilitation could take years. This is the hardest thing this family has ever gone through, and we will be forever grateful for any help you can provide. Thank you for all your prayers, encouraging words, facebook shares, donations, and well wishes!
You can learn more about her story from News 12 NY and CBS here:
https://bronx.news12.com/she-had-a-baby-while-in-a-covid-19-related-coma-now-shes-celebrating-her-1st-mothers-day
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/05/07/mother-survives-covid-finally-hugs-daughter-4-months-after-giving-birth-during-medically-induced-coma/
Organizer and beneficiary
Alicia Torres
Organizer
New York, NY
Serena Torres
Beneficiary
