Shirley Ray is my wonderful mother-in-law, and an amazing grandma ("Yaya") to my children.  I've known her for 18 years now, and she's always the one taking care of others.  She's always been there for her 5 children, 6 grandchildren, her own siblings, neighbors, and friends.

Well now it's time for others to take care of her.

February 11th, she was at my house taking care of my daughters while I was at work.  My husband was working upstairs when he heard his mom call for him.  When he came down, she was in paralyzing pain and losing consciousness.  He called for an ambulance, and they rushed her to the ER.

Shirley had had an aneurysm and hemorrhage stroke on the left bottom of her brain.  She'd never had any health issues before, and is only 63.  It all happened so suddenly, and we've never been more scared.

For over two weeks she was comatose in the hospital.  She was on a ventilator battling infections, but still clinging to life.  We didn't know if she would even wake up, but we continued to pray.  The doctors and nurses provided incredible care for her.

On March 1st, she woke up!  Her infections are getting better but not gone, her aneurysm is healing, and she's off the ventilator, breathing on her own!  She can swallow OK, but she still has a feeding peg because she can't eat and drink as much as she needs.  Cognitively, she's in great condition.  She understands everything and can whisper and mouth words in response.

We couldn't be happier, and we know God has been with us through all of this.  But it's not over yet.  First, Shirley will have a long road to recovery.  She needs physical therapy and lots of support.  She's still in a fragile state.  Second, she has no health insurance.  She doesn't qualify for Medicaid, and the medical bills are shocking.

She will owe the hospital close to 1 million dollars.  The hospital will be discharging her soon, and we are trying to figure out how to afford rehabilitation for her.  In addition, my faither-in-law has had to miss some work during these difficult weeks.

Any money received would go to 1) her current hospital bills, 2) to pay for some form of rehabilitation, either in home or in a facility, and 3) to help pay their regular bills while my father-in-law takes care of her.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us during this time, and thank you for any donations!

Please pray for Shirley during this difficult time, and please share this post.

Thank you!