Hi, my name is Lorena, and I am looking for help to support my dearest friends in their most tragic times of need.

Sandy and Karl and their 8 amazing kids are some of my dearest friends for the last 10 years. Recently Sandy was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension. She was first admitted to Sutter Roseville and we soon discovered her condition was more severe than what that hospital was equipped for.

She was then quickly flown to UCSF where we discovered she needed a heart and lung transplant. Unfortunately, due to the severity of the damage done to her heart already, she was no longer a candidate for that surgery. The doctors used an Echocardiogram to assess how efficiently the heart pumps blood and oxygen to her organs as her heart was failing her entire body.

They had to use a machine to bypass the failing right portion of her heart for it to pump and keep her alive and breathing. This machine was able to keep her heart pumping and provide her lungs with blood and oxygen but was depleting her blood platelets which called for her to be removed from the machine and receive several blood transfusions from a donor. This machine is only a temporary fix and her heart must pump on its own in order for her to survive.

Sandy and Karl have 8 children in total that they raise together. With the monthly expenses piling up and the hotel stays from Roseville to San Fransico money is becoming tight. They are not only asking for prayers but for financial assistance in funding their family to stay together so they can visit Sandy every day and discuss future plans for her health care with the medical professionals at UCSF.

If you know Sandy, Karl, Dillon, Austin, Emmy, Lily, Alex, Cody, Zeke or Nelly, you know how tight this family bond is. Please help in supporting them to be able to carry on some semblance of a normal life while staying steadily by Sandy's side as she fights for hers. Medical bills, household bills and travel expenses should not be what keeps a family apart but in the world we live in, it is a true and harsh reality.

Sandy and Karl are planning their wedding together and he and the kids will not be leaving her side until they can walk out of the hospital and down the aisle together.

If you can donate, please do, as there is nothing more important in life than your loved ones.