Marcia needs our help !
HI, my name is Victor. I am fundraising to help my sister to pay for her medical bills and continue to receive the medical care she needs for, what we hope will be, a full recovery.
The Woman We Know
All her life she has been an active, self-motivated, hardworking, and committed person. I wish I could tell you to how many people she has helped over the years in many ways; emotionally, financially, and spiritually.
Marcia is wonderful wife and mother. She and Jesse have of amazing sons. The oldest, Matthew, is soon to start the Officer program in the Marines, Joshua is serving our country in the Army, and young Nicholas is still in school and working through his own medical challenges. These past few months have been hard on all of them but especially little Nicko without his mother to care for him.
A few years ago, Marica started her own kitchen renovation company. She is so creative, honest, and hard-working in an industry dominated by men, she has very successfully built her own name in the Atlanta area. She was always very involved on each job. Her business is growing based on referrals. I can tell you that many of her clients have become her friends because of the happy, outgoing, friendly woman she is.
A Sudden Illness
Almost 3 months ago, on May 15th, she suffered from diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis, (DKA) is a life-threatening problem that affects people with diabetes. It occurs when the body starts breaking down fat at a rate that is much to fast. DKA signs and symptoms often develop quickly, sometimes within 24 hours. For some, these signs and symptoms may be the first indication of having diabetes. This is what happened to Marcia. The DKA was triggered by an infection that was raging throughout her system and which had turned septic from a staph bacterium.
Marcia did not know she was so ill or diabetic. She started acting confused and faint. We rushed her to the hospital without knowing what was wrong with her. In matter of hours, she was in coma. As you can imagine, everything changed from that moment. We dropped everything to be by her side. The hours went by and we did not have any information. The hope that she would suddenly wake up and be stable started to vanish. Test results started to come in. The medical team’s faces looked puzzled and worried. Everything looked bad. It was time to call the family.
The medical team tried to do everything they could. They came back and reported to us the findings, changes, medical suggestions, medicines, procedures, etc. A lot of medical jargon sounded foreign, but we understood the gist of what they were saying. It was too much to take in. The truth was that things were not getting better. On the contrary they got much worse. Suddenly there was so much do amid all the worry and concern. Sunday and Monday, family got in town, my brother from California, my aunt and cousin from Florida. We needed to let Joshua, her son, stationed at the Army base in Italy know. And Madera.
Madera, her dream, her company, all the years of efforts and sacrifice, her main source of income, not only for her but the employees. It was in danger. We needed to decide should we keep going with it or close everything down. We decided to finish what was in progress and to honor all the commitments she previously took. In our point of view, it was to keep her dream alive, to keep her presence alive within us. But for sure, she is Madera, she is the spirit of the company.
In the meantime, her health was getting worse. She was still in a coma. The bacteria had infected one of her heart valves with a type of vegetative growth. The hospital was not equipped to treat that condition and a transfer was recommended. In the new hospital, and after doing more tests, they decided to do an angiovac (a tiny tube with a vacuum) to remove the growth on her heart valve. During that procedure, they saw the valve was damaged to the point it needed replacing. At this point, also, they had to do a tracheotomy because she had been intubated too long. Before they could do the valve replacement surgery, she had a reaction to one of the blood thinners making things worse. The much-needed surgery had some very high risks and with the bad reaction to blood thinners, even more risky. The doctors told us if they performed the surgery under this condition, she had 5% chance to make it alive, yet if the surgery was not done, she will only have 10% chance to live. She was also on dialysis. The bacteria had attacked other organs and her kidneys were not working properly. And all this time she still hasn’t woken up!
We were desperate but hoping the medical team would find a solution. In matter of days, the doctors had down everything they could. There was no information they could provide to keep our spirits up. The end was coming. We could not believe any of what was happening right before us and we felt, no solution, nothing to do. In days we felt everything, despair, pain, frustration, hopeless, beaten, torn, kicked, confused. The unbelievable was happening! Marcia was dying!
We needed a miracle, we needed hope. At this point we were all praying for her, but now we knew that was all we had left. Prayers and faith needed to be exercised. And just as the man on his way to Jericho was beaten, stripped and left half dead, a good Samaritan showed up to help save the day. The good Samaritans are all of you; our family, friends, new friends, and medical staff. You were the eyes, the hands, the legs, and the love of our Savior. Your strength, love, prayers, hugs, kisses, words, and faith sustained us in this ordeal.
Just when all the medical experience, equipment, medications, ideas, proposed solutions and more where not enough, when all hope was almost gone, Our Father in Heaven and His Son, stepped in for us to know, without a doubt that it was HIM and HIS grace that came and saved Marcia. That HE heard our prayers, our thoughts and accepted all the sacrifices offered. That HE has been always here by us. It was a miracle, all your faith in The Lord helped us to have faith. And to receive Marcia’s miracle. She survived, because of HIM. Over that terrible weekend, the Lord interceded. She started to recover, she woke up, and the medical staff was able to step in and over the many weeks, were able to help her. She was able to get the surgery. Finally she could get off dialysis. She was able to breath on her own. She was able to be moved out of the ICU, then to a rehab hospital. And now…now She is home. Still very weak and with a long road to full recovery. But she is HOME!
There are no words to really describe this immeasurably hard time. We are all, family and friends, continually praying for Marcia’s full recovery. It is still a long way for Marcia. Her recovery and therapy has just begun. Perhaps she will face harder times, but she has you and the Lord by her side, and she has us, her family to help and cheer her on.
As Marcia’s spiritual life have changed for the better and her health is improving, slowly but surely, the inevitable conversation of finances must come. You can imagine, the medical bills are in the hundreds of thousands after 3 months of hospitalization and multiple surgeries. The insurance will cover only 80% hospital expenses, leaving the current bill over more than $100,000. It will not cover all the medications, home nurse visits, medical equipment and supplies my sister needs to continue her hard long road ahead.
As of right now, she can’t move on her own, 3 months in a bed causes muscle damage and she needs physical therapy. The daily medications, medical equipment, and daily medical supplies to keep her wounds clean are needed in great quantities.
She needs all the help we can give. She & her family need our help to lessen this great financial strain and burden she is facing now, so she can focus on her recovery and to get back to be the hard-working woman she has always been.
THIS is why I created this GoFundMe account. For all those who feel to keep helping Marcia not only with your prayers but in a direct way on her physical recovery. She needs us more than ever. I see how worried she is to be able to cover the medical expenses. She needs daily nurse visits that she can’t afford, she needs medicines, she needs to rent medical equipment to help her be comfortable and able to function around the house.
I am asking for your help. Every dollar counts, every single donation will be used to provide medical supplies and help. Please continue praying. We have faith that our Lord will provide this help through all of you too. He will finish Marcia’s miracle, until she is fully recovered. In the name of my sister and her family, I thank you in advance for your prayers, time, and great generosity
