Friday, Dec 19, my step-granddaughter Inez was nearly five months pregnant with her third child, a daughter named LylahLynn, when she hydroplaned in a rental car in a serious rainstorm on Hwy 395 between Susanville and Reno. She crashed head-on into a tree at 60mph, and while Inez will be fine, LylahLynn lost her heartbeat after the placenta detached from the uterine wall.

Her grandmother, Lori, and I are asking for your help. In addition to funds needed to care for Inez and prepare for LylahLynn's funeral, we are also seeking justice for LylahLynn.

Full details of the case are laid out at The RadicalRuss Show podcast; short story: after arriving by ambulance from a car crash, staff at Banner-Lassen Hospital did not perform any obstetric care on Inez (because she was "96hrs short of 5 months pregnant"), discharged Inez while LylahLynn was still alive (ultrasound showed "heartbeat of 144bpm"), then when Inez returned a half hour later because she was profusely bleeding vaginally, Banner-Lassen Hospital staff told her to "wait in line" in a full ER waiting room where "we can't tell you how long it will take." Lori had to drive her granddaughter Inez, bleeding and terrified, all the way to Reno, where staff immediately gave her obstetric care and full-body scans, only then revealing that LylahLynn had since passed away.

This is not the first example of negligent care Inez has suffered at Banner-Lassen; there have been previous incidents involving Inez's son, Emilio. Furthermore, a perusal of the comments and reviews at Banner-Lassen and the doctor who treated Inez reveals a litany of negative experiences and substandard care received by patients at this Susanville Hospital.

We are hoping to raise $15,000 to help cover the costs of LylahLynn's memorial, to help sustain Inez while she recuperates, and to help defray the costs of her totaling the rental car.

But even more, we want justice for LylahLynn and all the patients—especially MediCal patients like Inez—who've been mistreated at Banner-Lassen Hospital in Susanville, California, and we know that means attorneys who need retainers (unless we can find some legal pros who would take the case pro bono).

Thank you for whatever you can give. We are two heartbroken and motivated grandparents who will not stop until there is justice for LylahLynn.