Support Amanda’s Recovery

UPDATE: after spending a total of 44 days in the hospital Amanda is home ❤️ with all her traumas to her body we are still needing to ensure she has essentially 24 hour care. She has lost about 50% of her airway due to scar tissue forming from her being intubated in 2 different emergency cases as well as having a tracheotomy for a few weeks. Thankfully we were able to get it removed before she came home. With that being said we are wanting to allow Amanda to enjoy life as best as she can with everything she has fought through! We still have lots of Dr appts and needing to travel hours away back to San Francisco for some appt. She’s such a fighter, so strong and so brave! Please check out her TikTok page to learn more about her story. @amanda79581

this picture (6/16/24) is from her trip to the beach she was promised while still in the hospital. This picture makes my heart so happy!

My sister with special needs has been in the ICU for the past week. They have had to restart her heart 7 times.

On Tuesday, 3/26/24, my sister, Amanda, collapsed. She was carrying her My Little Pony movies to her bed when she suddenly fell to the floor and was unconscious. My mom, who thankfully was in the room with her, immediately called 911. She was at the hospital by 3 p.m. that day and went into cardiac arrest seven times. Seven times the amazing St. Elizabeth Hospital staff restarted her heart. They found that she had a 'massive' blood clot blocking both of her lungs, a saddle pulmonary embolism. After 6 days at our local hospital, Amanda was airlifted to UCSF where she is still fighting through complications with her heart, liver, and kidneys due to the multiple cardiac arrests and blood clots. She has had three blood transfusions and has been on a ventilator since she was first admitted.

Amanda, 41 years old, is a bright and beautiful woman with Down Syndrome, and has been defying the odds her entire life. The Doctors said that she would never walk, read or write, but Amanda is not the type of person to back down from a challenge. She walks, reads, and has books upon books of different stories she’s written all on her own! She has such a happy, bright, and creative mind. Amanda also crochets and has totes full of hats and scarves that she has made over the years; she sells them whenever she gets the opportunity. Amanda absolutely loves the ocean, whales, and dolphins; she has always wanted to be a marine biologist. She also loves God, swimming, chatting, strawberries with whipped cream, and movies/shows. Little House on the Prairie, Xena, Hercules, Power Rangers, and My Little Ponies are some of her favorites. The highlight of her life is when she was 24, she had the opportunity to swim with dolphins.

My mom, Kathy, is very selfless, loving, and kind. She has spent the past 41 years caring for Amanda and her every need, and will do so happily for the rest of her life. Words could not describe how much love my mom has for Amanda; she is so dedicated to her and has been with her in the hospital throughout this entire process. Previously, my mom was a bookkeeper. She transitioned to working with in-home care when Amanda began needing full-time care. With Amanda in the hospital, she has no income coming in, which makes a stressful time even more so, worrying about how to cover rent and bills.

I am creating this fundraiser for my mom and sister. The hospital, ambulance, and med-flight costs are tremendous, let alone the cost to stay in San Francisco for a yet undetermined amount of time. I understand that life is hard for many people right now, but for those that are in a space to help, I humbly ask for any assistance you can provide. Anything helps. Thank you, thank you, thank you greatly in advance.