A couple of weeks ago, Valerie was feeling ill and went to bed with what she and her husband thought was the flu.

A few days later he took her to the emergency room to find out she had pneumonia. She was transferred first to Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, Kansas, and then to the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. She has since undergone thoracic surgery to help her breathe better.

It turns out the pneumonia is a particularly nasty form called "necrotizing" and has eaten way part of one lung. Val has severe athsma and this is a complication.

Her husband Patrick was a long-time newspaper editor for what is now Gannett, but was laid off in October and has been making a living as a freelancer. However, they do not have insurance and the bills are mounting as they are now more than a week into an ICU stay with more time to come.

Any help you can give would be very appreciated, by Valerie, by Patrick and her entire family, to include her 10 (!) grandchildren.