Support Amy Ann Wagner

Many of you know it's been a tough couple of years for the Wagner family and I'd like to share a bit of what we've been through.  In February of 2018, my mother-in-law, Amy Ann had a concerning high fever and was taken to Sister's Hospital under the thought she had the flu.  She was soon transferred to the Mercy Hospital ICU and within days was in a coma, which lasted 3 months.  When she went into the hospital, I was 17 weeks pregnant with Joe and I's first child. In March 2018, her husband, Ron broke his ankle after falling on his way to visit her.  He had surgery and spent months in rehab to recover.  Amy suffered countless seizures and in March, her nurse told Joe and I that if she came out of the coma, she would likely be braindead.  We would hold her hand and talk to her with the hope that the spikes on her brain wave monitor were because of our presence and not a seizure.  Amy remained in the hospital for 5 months then was transferred to a rehab center.  In August, just after our daughter was born, Amy stopped breathing and fortunately Ron and Joe were beside her and able to get help right away.  She was transferred back to Mercy Hospital until November and later moved to a different rehab center, with a total of 15 months of significant care required.  She never went a day without visitors and our family was strengthened every day hoping for a miracle to bring her home.  She was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, where the typical recovery time is in line with her experience.  With so much time spent immobile, she had to relearn how to do everything, lift her arms, speak, swallow, walk and feed herself.  We were blessed to bring her home on May 22, 2019.   Our miracle was granted and Amy has now made a full recovery.  When Amy came home, our daughter was 9 months old. We have done everything to make up for the lost time and felt like we had gotten our lives back.  Just weeks ago, Ron didn't feel well but his symptoms were sporadic and his doctor thought he had pneumonia and recommended he stay home, rest and get plenty of fluids.  Within days, his conditioned worsened and Joe called an ambulance.  Ron was immediately admitted to the Mercy Hospital ICU, a place we are far too familiar with but trust their care.  He was confirmed to have Coronavirus and was placed on a ventilator.  In a sick game of deja vu, when he was admitted, I was again 17 weeks pregnant with our second child, his first grandson.  Amy and Joe were quarantined because of their contact with him and we were alone with our fears and pain.  We again hoped for a miracle and this time, although the duration was much shorter, it was more painful that we couldn't see or speak to him.  During this time, our beloved family dog of almost 12 years passed away and we thought for sure we had paid enough of an emotional and personal price.  We asked our girl, Riley, to let Heaven know that it could not take both of them from us.  Ron was transferred to St. Joseph's hospital specializing in Coronavirus patients and we were hopeful that they planned to reduce his sedation on Easter and begin to wean him off of the ventilator.  Early that morning, the hospital called to say that his blood pressure was crashing and within an hour, we had left us on April 12, 2020.  We are devastated by this loss and now our concerns return to Amy.  We have been fortunate that she and Joe show no signs of illness at this point but know we are not out of the woods.  Ron was the primary provider through his career pension and income from his tax office and now Amy's income has been significantly reduced.  Because of Ron's railroad pension, she is not eligible for Social Security and will now receive a portion of his pension.  Her extensive hospital and rehab care accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses and Ron was committed to paying her debt as fast as possible.  He had been diligent in paying a significant portion but now with the loss of his income, the remaining debt is more extreme.  We would like to reduce the financial burden that Amy feels because of her lengthy illness and help fulfill Ron's goal to not allow the debt to linger over her for the rest of her life. 

Any donations collected will go toward reducing Amy's medical debt. We appreciate any contribution to Amy and to minimize the stress she is feeling after the loss of her husband of 45 years.  We thank everyone for their well wishes and are saddest that we weren't able to be granted a second miracle.  Thank you on behalf of the entire Wagner family.