- B
- J
- L
Hi, and thank you for coming to this page and the interest in supporting my mom's recovery from her heart attack, Corona Virus and bedsores due to the neglect from her stay in the hospital.
Bottom Line, her Medicare pays for 100 days at an assisted living facility. The 100 Days will be over on August 8th 2020 and we are trying to raise funds so she can stay another month or at least until the bedsores have healed.
On March 3rd, 2020 at around six in the morning I got a call from my mom's cousin, Roberta. Mom was on her way to Vassar Medical Center. She was having trouble breathing. I, of course, got dressed and drove up to see what was going on. They couldn't figure it out at first but after many tests they found she had a heart attack. She needed to have surgery to replace 2 valves and a triple bypass. The surgery was postponed a few days and by the time they were ready for surgery, Corona Virus was creeping into the tri-state area. She had her surgery on March 12th and I stayed with her until she went into surgery and after over 10 hours, the operation was a success. On March, I left her at the hospital at 10PM thinking that everything was great. She was in the safest place possible in this time of uncertainty.
March 12th was the last time I saw my mom in person.
The next two months would be a roller coaster of chaos, miscommunication and anxiety. She wasn't waking up as well as they wanted and she was having trouble breathing and keeping her oxygen up. After what seemed like weeks, they tested her for Covid-19 and she came back positive.
She contracted Covid-19 in the hospital!
Now, to make a long story bearable, in the end she was intubated and under sedation for 16 days. On Good Friday, I spoke to the doctor and he was essentially telling me my mom was going to die. She had a 13% chance of coming off of the ventilator and being able to breath on her own. They told me that on Monday, I would have to make the decision that no son would ever want to make. I would have to decide to take her off the ventilator and if she couldn't breathe on her own, she would die. Easter weekend was the longest and the shortest that I could ever imagine. I had to decide if my mother was going to live or die. She told me time and time again that she wouldn't want to live as a vegetable on some machine. We had no way to know what this vile disease did to her mind, not to say what was happening to her body.
On Easter, my mom came off the ventilator and was breathing on her own!
You often hear about Easter miracles. I actually believed at that moment in time that we were witnessing one. My mom is one of the strongest women I know. She has been through a lot in life and she always came through stronger and ready for whatever life was ready to throw at her. This was only the beginning of a horrid road of fear, depression and worry. You would think that her breathing on her own was the end of the battle... Turns out that it was only the beginning.
I thought she had a stroke. And for a month after, I still did.
If you speak to my mom now, you'd never think that in late April and early May, she sounded like she was a child. She was confused and if you looked at her, it looked as if the entire right side of her face was paralyzed. It essentially was. She couldn't even hold her mouth closed. It was heartbreaking to see my mom, someone who was so strong, being reduced to the abilities of a child.
On May 1st, she was transferred to a rehab facility so she could start working on getting herself as close to normal as possible. She was still very confused. She doesn't remember much but at one point, she actually bit one of the orderlies. As I said, she is a tough cookie! The paperwork that the hospital was very chaotic and jumbled. The head nurse was calling Roberta and I because they couldn't make sense of it.
When she arrived at the rehab, she had 5 bedsores the size of a man's fist due to her not being moved in the bed for over 2 weeks. Total Neglect!
So, as we are creeping towards the 100th day, we know that because of the bedsores she wasn't able to do the cardiac rehab OR the physical rehab that she needed to in order to live a somewhat normal life. She can stand(not walk yet) with a walker. She needs help to sit up and hopefully soon, the bedsores will be a bad memory. The facility is $500 a day. That isn't a typo. We are trying to get her an extra month so she can get the help she needs now that the bedsores are almost under control.
Do not feel obligated!
Again, thank you all for looking at this fundraiser and I understand that times are tough. Please share this if you can and donate if you are able. Anyone who donates can have the PDF comic of their choice that I've created. Just let me know what book of mine that you'd like to read and I will send it to you via email.
Joe
You can also support mom by purchasing a T-Shirt, mask or any other item at the following link.
TeePublic
Thanks!
Bottom Line, her Medicare pays for 100 days at an assisted living facility. The 100 Days will be over on August 8th 2020 and we are trying to raise funds so she can stay another month or at least until the bedsores have healed.
On March 3rd, 2020 at around six in the morning I got a call from my mom's cousin, Roberta. Mom was on her way to Vassar Medical Center. She was having trouble breathing. I, of course, got dressed and drove up to see what was going on. They couldn't figure it out at first but after many tests they found she had a heart attack. She needed to have surgery to replace 2 valves and a triple bypass. The surgery was postponed a few days and by the time they were ready for surgery, Corona Virus was creeping into the tri-state area. She had her surgery on March 12th and I stayed with her until she went into surgery and after over 10 hours, the operation was a success. On March, I left her at the hospital at 10PM thinking that everything was great. She was in the safest place possible in this time of uncertainty.
March 12th was the last time I saw my mom in person.
The next two months would be a roller coaster of chaos, miscommunication and anxiety. She wasn't waking up as well as they wanted and she was having trouble breathing and keeping her oxygen up. After what seemed like weeks, they tested her for Covid-19 and she came back positive.She contracted Covid-19 in the hospital!
Now, to make a long story bearable, in the end she was intubated and under sedation for 16 days. On Good Friday, I spoke to the doctor and he was essentially telling me my mom was going to die. She had a 13% chance of coming off of the ventilator and being able to breath on her own. They told me that on Monday, I would have to make the decision that no son would ever want to make. I would have to decide to take her off the ventilator and if she couldn't breathe on her own, she would die. Easter weekend was the longest and the shortest that I could ever imagine. I had to decide if my mother was going to live or die. She told me time and time again that she wouldn't want to live as a vegetable on some machine. We had no way to know what this vile disease did to her mind, not to say what was happening to her body.
On Easter, my mom came off the ventilator and was breathing on her own!
You often hear about Easter miracles. I actually believed at that moment in time that we were witnessing one. My mom is one of the strongest women I know. She has been through a lot in life and she always came through stronger and ready for whatever life was ready to throw at her. This was only the beginning of a horrid road of fear, depression and worry. You would think that her breathing on her own was the end of the battle... Turns out that it was only the beginning.
I thought she had a stroke. And for a month after, I still did.
If you speak to my mom now, you'd never think that in late April and early May, she sounded like she was a child. She was confused and if you looked at her, it looked as if the entire right side of her face was paralyzed. It essentially was. She couldn't even hold her mouth closed. It was heartbreaking to see my mom, someone who was so strong, being reduced to the abilities of a child.
On May 1st, she was transferred to a rehab facility so she could start working on getting herself as close to normal as possible. She was still very confused. She doesn't remember much but at one point, she actually bit one of the orderlies. As I said, she is a tough cookie! The paperwork that the hospital was very chaotic and jumbled. The head nurse was calling Roberta and I because they couldn't make sense of it.
When she arrived at the rehab, she had 5 bedsores the size of a man's fist due to her not being moved in the bed for over 2 weeks. Total Neglect!
So, as we are creeping towards the 100th day, we know that because of the bedsores she wasn't able to do the cardiac rehab OR the physical rehab that she needed to in order to live a somewhat normal life. She can stand(not walk yet) with a walker. She needs help to sit up and hopefully soon, the bedsores will be a bad memory. The facility is $500 a day. That isn't a typo. We are trying to get her an extra month so she can get the help she needs now that the bedsores are almost under control.
Do not feel obligated!
Again, thank you all for looking at this fundraiser and I understand that times are tough. Please share this if you can and donate if you are able. Anyone who donates can have the PDF comic of their choice that I've created. Just let me know what book of mine that you'd like to read and I will send it to you via email.
Joe
You can also support mom by purchasing a T-Shirt, mask or any other item at the following link.
TeePublic
Thanks!