" These were the hardest few sentences I had to write publicly." - Almir Cumurija - son of Muharem Cumurija.

 

I've never thought I'd be posting a need for medical bills assistance on behalf of my father Muharem Cumurija (79 years old). He is currently in the Intensive care unit in Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

 

It all started on October 14th, 2021, when Muharem had a cardiac arrest. He fell in front of the store while walking with my mom (Fatima Cumurija). He was brought back by the medical response team, and during CPR couple of ribs were broken in an attempt (which was considered normal).

 

On October 14th, after Muharem was brought back by CPR, but could not maintain normal blood pressure. Muharem was sedated, intubated, and put on a ventilator. On October 15th, 2021, early in the morning after failed attempt to bring Muharem's blood pressure up, we received a call that Muharem needed urgent surgery to stop discovered internal bleeding in Muharem's back due to damaged ligaments. An attempt to stop internal bleeding and improve his blood pressure or let him pass away. We decided to try surgery to help the father survive as a family.

 

Muharem survived the surgery and was in the ICU. As a person hit specific amounts of days in the ICU, as I understand, people end up with uncomfortable meetings with an army of people (doctors, social workers) and family members who are struggling to put their mind together to decide to start being more aggressive and see if a person survives or not. After the first meeting, the decision was to watch for a few more days as Muharem showed signs of life by movement and responsiveness per command.

 

A few days later, after Muharem showed signs of life, back surgery was accepted/performed, and Muharem was on the way to recovery. We were able to talk sometimes during recovery, and it seemed like it was going in a good direction. Still, Muharem started experiencing respiratory issues while Muharem's feeding tube was discovered to be leaking. In addition, the catheter that was initially set in place was leaking (could these contribute to a lack of physical strength and worsen his mental state? I'm not sure as I'm not a medical expert). Half an hour later, he was dying due to the lack of oxygen as he stopped breathing due to accumulated mucus, which caused another cardiac arrest and caused comeback to ICU.

 

Comeback to ICU the second time could have been prevented (my opinion), but since I'm not a medical expert, I could not say much and fight the system in place. We trust, but sometimes things do not go well, and work done good/bad gets reflected on people in need. Comeback to ICU introduced more medical support devices extending the already known long possible recovery to even longer. After exiting ICU second time, my father ended up on the cardiovascular floor at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, MN. After a longer period spent there and feeling on a no man's land, move had to be made, and it was decided for Muharem to be transferred to Courage Kenny short-term rehabilitation center in Minneapolis after ping-pong playing with the insurance company declining his transfer to Long Term acute rehabilitation center which doctors initially requested. From Mercy hospital Muharem transferred to Courage Kenny rehabilitation center, and hours later transferred to Abbott NW hospital in Minneapolis after failed attempt to stay in Courage Kenny due to respiratory issues (which was fixed by another doctor at Abbott hospital by replacing trach in Muharem's throat as trach un-appropriately placed or moved at some point made it more challenging to take a breath and caused lack of oxygen).

 

After all the above, Muharem Cumurija (79 years old) experienced a double cardiac arrest on December 30th, 2021, at Abbott NW hospital in Minneapolis. The ongoing situation since October 14th made recovery challenging. Muharem spent time in two hospitals, one rehabilitation center, which failed 3 hours after arriving. Still, the transfer had to be made due to the push by insurance, knowing that he was not ready for short term rehabilitation center, and three visits in the ICU (and still there, experiencing challenges with insurance with another possible move) if there is one.

 

Going into the third month, Muharem is still in the ICU and went through cooling/warming procedures, and currently showing some physical movements but not good enough yet to respond always per command.

 

Probably most of you have experienced or know someone who spent a more extended period in the hospital and the lengthy bill pages that hit you when you feel most vulnerable. We could handle some of the bills and push as much as possible, but 75 pages long probably not. I don't think many people in the USA or the world would be able to handle it. But unfortunately, that is the reality and world we live in that we must deal with when feeling most vulnerable.

 

Some accumulated bills are already taken care of by the family, but 75 pages long one is on the way (closed on December 31st, 2021), and more to come in 2022.

 

The pandemic caused many issues globally, affecting many families, and it's hard to help others in need when surrounded by all negativities. If you feel like you can help, try to share this post with others. In the end, people ask for help from people until medical systems improve and tend to be more human for people in need as we all age and hope for a better tomorrow.

 

Amela Bego here, my daughter Daanya Bego went through a lengthy leukemia treatment in the past. We successfully concurred with the support of an army of people contributing, supporting different ways through the journey. All the support was greatly appreciated and helped me emotionally and financially through the tough times as a mother. I could not sit, wait, knowing how difficult it is for a family to support a family member in need and trying to work around other challenges that happen along the way and yet stay mentally positive (easier said than it is).

 

Its not obligation, but at least try to share if you find time. Thank you!

 

“Nikada nisam ni pomislio da cu pisati ovako nesto I veoma je tesko pisati a pretesko dozivljavati ove momente” – sin Muharema Cumurije.

 

Osoba koja nas treba je moj otac (stari) Muharem Cumurija koji prolazi kroz teske periode zivota. Ukratko, Muharemu je srce stalo oktobra 14toga, 2021. Medicinska sluzba je dosla na vrijeme I ozivila (tokom ozivljavanja – par rebara je slomljeno, ali to se tretira kao normalno). Put od oktobra 14tog nije bio nimalo lagan. Hitna operacija da bi se zaustavilo unutrasnje krvarenje, operacija kicme (T6-T12), prestanak disanja zbog nagomilanog slajma (ponovna reanimacija I ponovni odlazak na intezinu njegu), komplikacije sa medicinskim osiguranjima, planirani premjestaji, premjestaj u drugu bolnicu, zastoj srca dva puta u istom danu (Decembra 30to, 2021) I mnogo jos toda sto je prouzrokovalo dosadasnji moguci dugi oporavak jos duzim (……….).

 

Kao familija pokusavamo da se borimo, jer I Muharem pokaziva znakove zivota pa kakvi god bili, ali na kraju medicinski sistem nije bas kreiran za obicnog covjeka ako mu je potrebna malo veca pomoc. 79-to godisnji covijek iz Naroda od Oktobra 14tog, 2021 suocava se sa zdravstvenim problemima I trenutno lezi na intezivnom odjelu u Abbott NW bolnici u Minneapolisu, USA. Mozda ce neko reci fine godine, ali kako god, pokusavam/o na bilo koji nacin da prvobitno Muharemu olaksamo, njegovoj supruzi Fatimi, familiji I svima koji se svakodnevno raspituju o Muharemovom stanju. Treci mjesec po bolnicama nije lako. Dosta uspona I padova, al samo Muharem I dragi Bog znaju kako je. Prozivljavajuci I nagledavsi se svega tokom dosadasnjeg boravka po bolnicama, nedo Bog nikome I molim boga da mu olaksa. Medicinsko sistematski problem, vjerovatno su se mnogi suocavali ili dozivjeli na svojoj kozi ako su zbog zdravstvenih problema morali provoditi vise vremena po bolnicama. Dosadasnji racuni su placeni, ali jedan koji je u pripremi I zakljucen krajem 2021 godine (75 stranica dug), malo ko u svjetu bi bio spreman za njega, a uz to i racuni tokom novonastale 2022 godine koji su jos u toku.

 

Budite zivi, zdravi, nikada ne morali pisati ovako nesto i nikada suocavali sa ovakvim stvarima u trenutcima kada vam je najteze.

 

Ako mozete podijeliti ovaj post, bit ce mo vam zahvalni.

 

 

Almir Cumurija

Additional paypal account requested by people from different parts of the world not familiar with gofundme is provided here:

za one koji su pitali postojeci paypal racun, email je sljedeci (ako moze uz malu poruku za koga, samo stavite muharem).

paypal (for some reason gofund me removes and email)
@cumurija
paypalcumurija  
(Almir Cumurija), and try to put a note, muharem