$40,984 raised
·88 donations
The Shaikh Family
Donation protected
Hi everyone- Angelina here.
By now, most of you have probably heard about my husband’s, Mani, unfortunate health issues in the last year. In short, he had heart failure in late November 2018, and after weeks of being in the hospital from complications, he received an aortic valve replacement and pacemaker. Luckily, he was discharged just shy of a month after admittance, allowing us to celebrate Christmas at home. During the following weeks, Mani recovered well, was able to return to work, and resumed living as he did prior to the heart failure.
Mani’s cardiologist informed him to keep active to ensure his heart stayed healthy, so he frequently went biking and swimming. On June 22, 2019, while he was out riding his bike, he fell of his bicycle as he was returning home. No one really knows what actually happened, but luckily someone saw him lying down unconscious on the side of the road and called 911. When police arrived, Mani was not speaking and appeared to be dazed. Ironically, the ambulance took him to the same hospital where he was treated for his heart condition just six short months prior. He was immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). He was bleeding in three different areas of the brain and was only expected to be there for a few days.
After being admitted, his condition worsened overnight. His brain was bleeding so much that his condition became critical, requiring immediate surgery the next morning. The neurosurgeon was great and did what he could, but he was not able to stop the bleeding. Since it had become a life or death situation, my daughter flew in from Los Angeles and my son drove in from Orlando. During the following days, there were times my children and I were kicked out of the ICU because his injuries were too severe to allow visitors. The hardest part was being unsure of the situation, as his medically induced coma made it impossible to know the full extent of the trauma his brain endured. It left me wondering whether he was going to survive this horrific accident.
As the days turned into weeks, we were prepped many times by the doctors that Mani may never wake. They informed us that if he did wake, he would most likely be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. To realize his condition, the doctors slowly took him off sedatives, painkillers, and the paralytic drugs that kept him in a medically induced coma.
On July 5th, he finally opened his eyes! Much to everyone’s surprise, Mani’s health condition began to improve, and he was able to eventually get off the ventilator and breathing tube (tracheotomy) which were surgically implanted to help him breathe. He slowly got back his memory of us and the rest of his family and friends and was accepted to the best Traumatic Brain Rehab facility in Florida, Brooks Hospital in Jacksonville. There, the doctors and staff monitored him 24/7. In two weeks, their incredible rehabilitation team helped him regain his ability to walk, eat, take a shower by himself, and so much more. He made so much progress, that he was quickly discharged on August 13th.
Although Mani was discharged from Brooks Hospital, his progress was not enough for him to return back to Tampa and resume his normal life. Fortunately, he was given the opportunity to start their intensive outpatient rehab program. This program is working to regain his higher-level thinking skills. In order to attend this program, we have had to uproot our lives and rent a temporary apartment, hours away from our home.
We are so very thankful that God has blessed Mani, and that he has made such progress in light of the seriousness of his injuries. I also sincerely and truly thank everyone who prayed for his recovery. We personally believe that his miraculous recovery is a result of the collective payers, love, and good wishes sent to us from all over the world.
Many people have asked how we are doing and what they can do to help. I usually say we are fine, but in reality, things are not fine. I have a great deal of financial stress. Mani’s employer has been wonderful and supportive, and they waited as long as they could to put him on unpaid leave. We are now waiting for his short-term disability payments, but I do not know how long it will take to be approved. In the interim, unfortunately, due to his recent past medical expenses for his heart, we are experiencing a cash crunch for which I hate to admit.
It will cost $11,000 alone for temporary housing in addition to the medical deductibles for the medical bills we have received from his previous medical stay. There is also the obvious medical deductibles for this current injury, although we are unsure what the total will be. It pains me to say we have not prepared ourselves well enough for this kind of unexpected emergency, since we have depleted much of our safety net when he initially had his heart issues and with the kids’ college expenses; but it is the reality we are currently living through.
It is not easy coming to grips with the situation I am in, so I struggle with my answer whenever friends and family ask how we are doing. On one hand, we are so grateful that God blessed us with a miracle; on the other, there is the financial strain.
Those who know me well know that I would never ask for financial help. However, I never thought that we would be in such a situation. If you are able to help me financially so that the financial strain is lessened, I would be very grateful. I also request that you continue sending us the well wishes and praying that Mani makes a full recovery so he can return to work and continue to live the life he knew before the accident. Thank you!
Much love to all-
Angelina
By now, most of you have probably heard about my husband’s, Mani, unfortunate health issues in the last year. In short, he had heart failure in late November 2018, and after weeks of being in the hospital from complications, he received an aortic valve replacement and pacemaker. Luckily, he was discharged just shy of a month after admittance, allowing us to celebrate Christmas at home. During the following weeks, Mani recovered well, was able to return to work, and resumed living as he did prior to the heart failure.
Mani’s cardiologist informed him to keep active to ensure his heart stayed healthy, so he frequently went biking and swimming. On June 22, 2019, while he was out riding his bike, he fell of his bicycle as he was returning home. No one really knows what actually happened, but luckily someone saw him lying down unconscious on the side of the road and called 911. When police arrived, Mani was not speaking and appeared to be dazed. Ironically, the ambulance took him to the same hospital where he was treated for his heart condition just six short months prior. He was immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). He was bleeding in three different areas of the brain and was only expected to be there for a few days.
After being admitted, his condition worsened overnight. His brain was bleeding so much that his condition became critical, requiring immediate surgery the next morning. The neurosurgeon was great and did what he could, but he was not able to stop the bleeding. Since it had become a life or death situation, my daughter flew in from Los Angeles and my son drove in from Orlando. During the following days, there were times my children and I were kicked out of the ICU because his injuries were too severe to allow visitors. The hardest part was being unsure of the situation, as his medically induced coma made it impossible to know the full extent of the trauma his brain endured. It left me wondering whether he was going to survive this horrific accident.
As the days turned into weeks, we were prepped many times by the doctors that Mani may never wake. They informed us that if he did wake, he would most likely be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. To realize his condition, the doctors slowly took him off sedatives, painkillers, and the paralytic drugs that kept him in a medically induced coma.
On July 5th, he finally opened his eyes! Much to everyone’s surprise, Mani’s health condition began to improve, and he was able to eventually get off the ventilator and breathing tube (tracheotomy) which were surgically implanted to help him breathe. He slowly got back his memory of us and the rest of his family and friends and was accepted to the best Traumatic Brain Rehab facility in Florida, Brooks Hospital in Jacksonville. There, the doctors and staff monitored him 24/7. In two weeks, their incredible rehabilitation team helped him regain his ability to walk, eat, take a shower by himself, and so much more. He made so much progress, that he was quickly discharged on August 13th.
Although Mani was discharged from Brooks Hospital, his progress was not enough for him to return back to Tampa and resume his normal life. Fortunately, he was given the opportunity to start their intensive outpatient rehab program. This program is working to regain his higher-level thinking skills. In order to attend this program, we have had to uproot our lives and rent a temporary apartment, hours away from our home.
We are so very thankful that God has blessed Mani, and that he has made such progress in light of the seriousness of his injuries. I also sincerely and truly thank everyone who prayed for his recovery. We personally believe that his miraculous recovery is a result of the collective payers, love, and good wishes sent to us from all over the world.
Many people have asked how we are doing and what they can do to help. I usually say we are fine, but in reality, things are not fine. I have a great deal of financial stress. Mani’s employer has been wonderful and supportive, and they waited as long as they could to put him on unpaid leave. We are now waiting for his short-term disability payments, but I do not know how long it will take to be approved. In the interim, unfortunately, due to his recent past medical expenses for his heart, we are experiencing a cash crunch for which I hate to admit.
It will cost $11,000 alone for temporary housing in addition to the medical deductibles for the medical bills we have received from his previous medical stay. There is also the obvious medical deductibles for this current injury, although we are unsure what the total will be. It pains me to say we have not prepared ourselves well enough for this kind of unexpected emergency, since we have depleted much of our safety net when he initially had his heart issues and with the kids’ college expenses; but it is the reality we are currently living through.
It is not easy coming to grips with the situation I am in, so I struggle with my answer whenever friends and family ask how we are doing. On one hand, we are so grateful that God blessed us with a miracle; on the other, there is the financial strain.
Those who know me well know that I would never ask for financial help. However, I never thought that we would be in such a situation. If you are able to help me financially so that the financial strain is lessened, I would be very grateful. I also request that you continue sending us the well wishes and praying that Mani makes a full recovery so he can return to work and continue to live the life he knew before the accident. Thank you!
Much love to all-
Angelina
Donations
Co-organizers (2)
Patricia Ortiz Thompson
Organizer
Tampa, FL
Angelina Lim
Beneficiary
Kari Reid
Co-organizer