Hello, my name is Lauren. I am the younger sister of a loving, mentally disabled brother, Ramon. Just over a month ago, my parents came home from running errands to find my brother unresponsive and bleeding from his mouth while sitting on the couch. During all the chaos, my stepdad tried to resuscitate my brother until medical aid showed up. While en route to the local hospital, the staff in the ambulance was finally able to resuscitate my brother. Once he was admitted to the hospital and they were able to run tests, they found out that his organs were failing, his thyroid numbers were off the charts, and he possibly had cardiac arrest. Ever since that day, things have been an absolute roller-coaster. Two days after being admitted to the hospital and his numbers getting worse, he was airlifted out of that hospital and admitted to a trauma center on the other side of the state. Upon arrival, he was put into the MICU center. My brother has been through hell. He had been heavily sedated for over two weeks, was placed on 24/7 dialysis, then intermittent, and then back to 24/7 dialysis again to try and save his kidneys. He was intubated so he could breathe and later had to get a tracheostomy for more long-term help. He had pneumonia, was placed on an ECMO machine to let his lungs recover, had multiple EEGs performed, had blood clots in his lungs and in his brain, and while in the hospital, had to be resuscitated due to cardiac arrest. Now, he is having a pancreas issue. This is the quick rundown of everything he's been through. It's been an extremely difficult road for him, but he's been fighting his hardest throughout it all. Every time we finally saw a glimmer of hope, it would be taken from us quickly after.

My parents are both in their 70s and live off of fixed incomes. They have been driving multiple times a week from over an hour and a half away to spend time with my brother and to keep on top of his recovery. Between paying for fuel, tolls, parking fees, wear and tear on the vehicles, and food, it has been taking a huge financial toll on them. My brother will be sent to a Long Term Assistance Facility eventually, but even the ones he may potentially be sent to are an hour or more away from them both. The doctors have said that Ray has months of recovery to go, and financially, I'm not sure how much my parents can truly afford. All I am asking for is some possible financial relief for my parents so that it's one less thing they have to think about while they are focusing on their son's recovery. Honestly, any little bit that anyone could offer would be a help to them both. Thank you so much in advance for even listening to my story, and if you can help financially or even spiritually, just know that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Have a beautiful day.