MARS NEEDS OUR HELP!

Mars recently suffered a rare condition called a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm that has a reported 90% fatality rate in the United States. An enlarged major blood vessel ruptured into her abdomen late one night, and very quickly, she lost more than half of all the blood in her body. Fortunately, she was staying with a friend who recognized the urgency, and quickly called 911. Some truly amazing EMTs rushed her to the nearest hospital, and Mars was quickly taken into the surgery that saved her life. She was tachycardic and her blood pressure had completely tanked. Before the surgery, they couldn't find a radial pulse in either her legs or arms, and it took multiple dedicated nurses to place her IVs. Finally, after surgery to stop the bleeding, she was rushed to the ICU, and received multiple blood transfusions.

Mars has survived this horrific bleed, but her fight to recover is far from over! When a person’s body goes through such a huge blood loss, the body tries to protect the most vital organs – heart, lungs and brain – by shutting down blood flow to the legs, feet, and arms. The result is that the vital blood vessels in the extremities will collapse with no blood to fill them, and are often seriously damaged. Most of those blood vessels take weeks or months to fully recover. The result for the patient is an immediate loss of the normal use of their feet, legs, arms and hands, requiring weeks or months of therapy to be able to stand, walk and use their hands again. Even after an intensive hospitalization, Mars must still use a wheelchair, walker, and other medical equipment to get around and navigate through daily life. Efforts to do so are quickly physically exhausting for her. She continues to undergo intensive therapy to learn to walk and take care of herself again. Unfortunately, doctors have been unable to give us a definitive timeline for recovery, but it looks like months or more. In a matter of a few unimaginable moments, Mars has lost her income from work, ability to afford a place to live, and will be unable to return to school for some time. Like most of us, she was financially unprepared for a catastrophic loss like this. Costs and outstanding bills have been piling up, and she is struggling with new financial and logistical challenges every single day.

Most of you know that Mars has always been a strong, independent woman, and up until this terrible event, like the rest of us, she has worked hard to support herself. Unfortunately, that is not possible right now. But she still has bills, living expenses, and critical needs for medical equipment and assistive devices moving forward that are not covered by her insurance.

Those of you who know Mars, know that she has always been the first to step up and help others. For example, how many other people do you know spend their birthdays collecting donations for Denver’s homeless, asking friends to donate blankets and old clothes rather than buying her a gift? Many of you remember when Mars learned that her mentor, “Mom”, was terminally ill, and brought her to Denver to care for her so that Mom could spend the last weeks of her life in comfort with someone who loved her. Or that Mars worked at Swedish Hospital caring for Denver’s most severely ill COVID patients during the worst of the pandemic. As someone who has known Mars throughout her entire life, I can tell you that those selfless acts are only the tip of a very big iceberg. Mars has devoted so much of her life to helping others, and probably always will. But now she is really struggling with expenses and no income. Mars really needs our help!

Very simply, your donations made to this Go Fund Me Campaign will go directly to Mars for immediate use for the most essential medical and living expenses until she is strong enough, and can walk again. We know that not everyone may have money to donate right now. But if not, your efforts to reach out to your networks to share this with others who CAN donate would be very much appreciated!

In the meantime, Mars is understandably very worried and discouraged. Everyday challenges and trying to do anything physical have become 10x harder, and sometimes nearly impossible. Please share your prayers and wishes for her recovery with Mars on Facebook, Instagram, email, or by texting her to brighten her spirits.

Thank you so very much!