Hi, I'm Hannah and I am raising funds for Jeanette (Nettie) and William Defoe and their family.

On Thursday night, Nettie was rushed to MMC in Ashland, WI, and told she had a brain bleed that needed emergency surgery in the Twin Cities. Due to the weather, a flight was not available until the next morning. When she was flown to Abbott Northwestern, they found that the bleeding had stopped, so they did further testing.

After further testing, Nettie was diagnosed with Reverse Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome (RCVS). She does not need surgery!

She will have a recovery of 6 months to a year, as it can take months before the blood on her brain dissolves.

She will be moved into a regular room in the next 24-48 hours and out of the ICU. Once she is released from the hospital, she won’t be coming home right away; instead, she will have to go to a recovery center to build up her strength to come home.

This means that the Defoe family will be spending Christmas, and many more months, down in the Cities. Ashland is a 4-hour drive, and there will be hotel bills, meals, etc. As Bill said, it's a marathon, not a sprint, so any help at all is well, helpful.

Caring Bridge has the latest updates from Bill and Jewel.