Malou's Medical Fund

On the morning of Tuesday, Aug 1, 2017, our dear friend Malou suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm at her home in West Richland. She was flown from Kadlec to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where she underwent surgery to clip the blood clot and drain the bleeding. The next few days were a mixture of anxious waiting, as she developed fevers and heightened blood pressures, and joyful relief, as she regained movement of her left extremities and the swelling on her left eye has progressively gone down. After almost 2 weeks, she was finally extubated and can breathe on her own. She has since been able to smile, mouth a few words (since her throat is still swollen) and understand simple commands by nodding and shaking her head and was able to move her right hand and wiggle her toes on her right leg.  Since her throat was still swollen and she was having difficulty swallowing, they placed a nasogastric tube to help feed her. 

On Saturday, Aug, 19, she underwent a second surgery to clip another aneursym they found in her brain during an angiogram they performed a week earlier. The operation went extremely well. Post op head ct scan is clear, and the shunt and center line have been permanently removed. She's now talking more, she's stronger and can sit up for several hours. She's also regained movement on her right arms and legs!  She still has some problems remembering things but it's expected during this stage of her recovery. She still has difficulty swallowing so she still has a feeding tube.

Now, she has a long road to recovery ahead of her. And while their medical insurance covers a good portion of their medical bills, it will not be enough to cover the ongoing expense of rehab and therapy, specialist visits, medical supplies, and other related expenses. We are asking for your help to ease the family’s financial burden as they prepare for Malou’s journey to recovery.

Malou is a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend. Always greeting you with a wide smile or a contagious laugh, Malou is always willing to help others, using her talents and skills to help a friend in need, to listen to their stories, to be a shoulder to cry on, to be whatever help she can be.

We praise God everyday for the small victories in Malou’s healing and we thank you for your continued prayers and support to the Cruto family.

 
Update: August 25, 2017

While Malou is progressing extremely well day by day, she still hasn't been able to pass her swallow test. Her left vocal cord has been affected which is impeding her ability to swallow completely thus preventing the removal of her feeding tube. She is scheduled for another surgery on Monday to move her vocal cord closer to her voice box and help make contact with the right vocal cord when she swallows or speaks. The doctors are hopeful that after this surgery, she will only have to stay in the hospital for another week before being discharged.  Lord willing, she will be able to move back to the Tri Cities to begin her in-patient intensive rehab and therapy for the first few months before transitioning to regular rehab 2-3 times a week.  The doctors anticipate her rehab to last at least a year.  We appreciate your prayers for a successful surgery on Monday and praise God for the miracle he has done in Malou's life.