The Delahunty’s Need Your Help

Hi, my name is Lauren Delahunty. I would never have thought of creating a GoFundMe before these past few weeks, but right now, my little family is in dire need after some major heath complications.

To give some context, we have been struggling for awhile. Since 2019, Chris has had a lot of trouble with his back and had two surgeries to fix his herniated discs. Currently, he is on long-term disability with a fixed income and we are on COBRA insurance that is barely covered by those monthly wages.

I had August via emergency C-Section on 6/14/2020, after being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. After birthing complications and having a life-threatening infection that took me away from my family, I was diagnosed with PPD and PPA.

I was laid off from my long-term job two hours after I returned from maternity leave. After going through a few jobs where I was miserable, I decided to take a mental break and return to Valentino's as a supervisor. It is a job that makes me happier, and gives me time with my family, but does not offer PTO for my position, so any work I miss means that I am providing less for my family.

In December, my nightmares were realized when my family got COVID. It was mild, and we didn't think much of it. However, this put a further financial strain on us as I was out of work for 3+ weeks after continuing to test positive.

In January, while on a family trip to Hy-Vee, I had a Grand Mal seizure and collapsed onto the grocery store floor. I woke up in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. After testing for brain tumors, blood clots, imbalances, etc., the doctors told me that it was probably COVID related and sent me off without a diagnosis. This left me with 3 months where I was legally unable to drive, and could not work my full time hours.

In April, after finally being able to work without restrictions again, I started to get sick. I lost 60+ pounds from not having an appetite, was exhausted, and could not make it through a full shift. One day, I couldn't even get myself to work and made an appointment with my GP.

At that doctor's appointment, the doctor thought that I had appendicitis and sent me straight to the ER, where they gave me a CT scan. They had found a large amount of fluid around my heart and were contacting the cardiac team for surgery. I had a drain inserted. In total, they drained almost 2 liters of fluid off my heart. I spent almost an entire week in the hospital and was blessed to come home for Easter with my beautiful family.

A few days later, I got a call saying they found a contaminant on my culture and that I needed to be seen immediately. On the day of the appointment, I noticed I was very weak, dizzy, and faint. I told the PA this and she immediately scheduled me for a heart echo. The cardiologist called back quickly and let me know that I needed to be admitted to the hospital - they had a room waiting for me.

I returned to the hospital and was again taken into surgery for a major heart procedure called a pericardial window. They cut a square out of the tissue around my heart so that the fluid could drain into my chest cavity, and inserted two drains about the width of a dime each into the window leading to a drain. When I woke up, I was in the worst pain of my life. Going to the bathroom (or moving in general) was excruciating.

Again, I was in the hospital for a week and was just discharged. In the next coming weeks, I've got tons of doctor's appointments, follow-ups, echos, and recovery and will not be able to return to work for some time.

If you could please donate or even share my story, I would be eternally grateful. The funds I receive will go to paying our monthly bills, food, baby care items such as diapers and clothes, and medical bills.

Thank you for reading this long message. I love and appreciate you all.

Lauren