Please help Alison Konarski (medical)

Asking for help is never easy, with COVID and the hospitals at capacity it just makes things worse. So, I share this: My siblings’ partner is in the hospital, and it is destroying them mentally, emotionally, and financially. Vacation/sick (any PTO) has run out, all time off is unpaid leave.

The love she has for my sibling is deep and has kept their family together, Alison has been the glue. Alison has medical challenges already being diagnosed with PAH (waiting for a lung transplant) and now pneumonia and strep.

If you can help at all it would be greatly appreciated. They live a simple life and don’t need a lot but would like to get through this without losing more than they must. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Recent posts and status from her partner, my sibling:

1.16.2021

Alison’s health has taken a sudden downturn. This morning (late morning) I found her unresponsive, breathing but unresponsive. I ended up calling an ambulance. She has severe pneumonia, high fever, and some sort of viral infection but not COVID. They did put her on a ventilator. She will most likely be there for a few weeks and due to COVID, I’m not allowed to visit her. I was told that due to her underlying health issues things could get even worse.

Just got off the phone with the nurse. Alison appears to be responding to treatment. They determined that she also has strep. When she does things, she goes all out. She is still sedated, and on the ventilator but does respond when they try to clean her nose and throat. The bicarb drip isn’t enough, and she will have to have a round of full-out dialysis. I tried to get some sort of prognosis but all they would tell me is to take it day by day.

1.20.2021

Alison has a new nurse; she seems to have a lot more empathy. She believes to some degree Alison knows what is going on, so she sits and talks to her. Even brushes her hair and stuff. It brings tears to my eyes to hear it but I am grateful that someone is able and willing to spend time with her. She even offered to let me ZOOM with Alison. I want to but I think I would just cry the whole time.

I had mentioned that she was accepted at Advocate Christ hospital but they are waiting on a bed to free up so she can get some much-needed meds for the PAH. They won’t ship the meds to where she is. It makes sense since they are extremely specialized. It is what they call an orphan medicine and is extremely hard to manufacture and has no other purpose.

PAH itself is rare. Only [téléphone supprimé] are diagnosed every year. I love and miss you, Alison Konarski. Please come back to us. Our furry kids and I are lost without you.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is one form of a broader condition known as pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the lungs. In PAH, this increased pressure in the vessels is caused by an obstruction in the small arteries in the lung for a variety of reasons.