Recovery & Support for Andrea (Ortiz) Mendoza
On Saturday, June 27th, 2020, our sister Andrea, suffered a traumatic medical emergency during family dinner. She was taken by emergency services to the local hospital and ultimately transported again via ambulance to Providence St. Vincent in Portland where she currently remains in the Neurological Critical Care Unit. Andrea suffered three consecutive strokes, both Ischemic and Hemorrhagic. Doctors are still actively searching for the cause so that they can stabilize her and work on a plan for recovery. Andrea has lost motor function on the right-hand side of her body and is still currently unable to communicate. Despite all of this, she’s still here with us and does her best to show she’s still a fighter!
What we do know is that Junior and Andrea need your help right now. This is an overwhelming situation and the road to recovery is long. Junior and family members will be commuting to and from Portland during this time. Andrea has done so many wonderful things in her communities, with her friends, her loved ones, and family. If you know her, she would stand by your side anytime you needed it and now it's our time to show that same amount of support.
I know times are uncertain right now for many so if you are unable to contribute monetarily, there are other ways to help:
- You can sign up to provide a meal. This will be for two adults; Junior and the family member 'on-shift'. We are rotating shifts at the hospital as there are visitor restrictions in place. Drop-off will be in Albany, OR at their home residence. If you are closer to the hospital (Portland area) and would still like to provide a meal, please contact me and we can arrange an alternate drop-off location.
Sign up here --> https://mealtrain.com/541yyw
- Junior needs our help to accommodate their home situation. If you can help with construction, materials, labor, time, or anything along these lines of support, this will be greatly appreciated and will be lead by our brother, Paul Ortiz.
- Andrea will need specialized therapy. If you are or know someone who would be willing to donate their time, this would be extremely beneficial to her recovery as it is unknown if insurance will cover therapy at this time.
- Their two small dogs will need food and supplies. We know these are Andrea's babies and she would be so relieved to know they are being taken care of. We are rotating with their care as well. They use BLUE Wilderness Nature's Evolutionary Diet (https://bluebuffalo.com/dry-dog-food/wilderness/toy-breed-chicken/).
- The power of prayer: Andrea is and has always been a very spiritual person. I know if roles were reversed, she'd create the biggest prayer circle known to mankind for any of us. Please pray for her, for Junior, for her family, and pray with focus and intention on allowing the swelling in her brain to decrease to then allow rest and recovery.
A couple of things to note: Flower deliveries are not allowed in the NCCU. Due to COVID, visiting the hospital is not currently an option. We are limited to the one family member 'on shift'. If you are joining the meal train, only drop-off will be allowed out of precaution for everyone's health and safety.
Thank you for all your love and support you have shown. It is nothing short of amazing. We love you all and are so humbled by the demonstration of love for our sweet sister, Andrea.
