Support Megan's Recovery from HUS
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Megans story so far.
In early September my younger brother Jeremy's wife Megan, a healthy 27 year old woman fell ill with a rare strain of E.Coli. The strain is O157:H7 and produces something called Shiga Toxins. Normally with E.Coli, you get sick and you get over it, much like normal food poisoning.
Unfortunately Megan wasn't so lucky. Towards the end of September after a long bout of gastrointestinal issues, she showed no improvement and her health continued to decline. In late September, she had to be rushed to the emergency room. Upon doing some tests it was determined that she was in renal (kidney) failure. Her condition quickly deteriorated and she was transported to a major hospital in eastern Washington State.
She was admitted into the ICU where we found out she was in multi-system organ failure and slipping fast. They quickly put her on dialysis and plasmapheresis to filter out the toxins from her blood since her kidneys were no longer functioning.
Megan had developed a complication from the Shiga Toxins called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. This condition is extremely extremely rare in young adults and is most commonly found in children, but even then is still extremely rare. The playbook for her condition is small and limited.
Megan continued to decline and started having myoclonic seizures which were very intense and difficult to watch.
With Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, the toxins essentially destroy the red blood cells in the body. The kidneys can't filter out these broken red blood cells effectively and it starts to damage and can ultimately destroy the kidneys, in extreme cases it can also cause strokes.
Unfortunately, Megan has had every complication that she possibly can with this condition and ended up having an thrombotic stroke. This means that her blood clotted in vessels in her brain and stopped blood flow to her frontal lobe. It is different than a hemmorhagic stroke in where the blood vessel bursts.
After the stroke Megan fell into a coma for 9 days and we feared the worst. She has since come out of the coma but has paralysis in her right side, blindness on the right side and is unable to communicate. She is still fighting for her life.
Our whole family is here in Eastern Washington away from our homes. Resources are starting to run low. Lodging, unpaid time away from work, gas and other necessities are starting to pile up. We have waited until we absolutely needed it to begin asking for help.
We need help. 100% of what we collect will go towards helping us all be there for Megan, making sure her bills and ours are paid.
Megan is a wonderful, compassionate and happy person. She loves hockey (a devout Blackhawks fan). She has been married for just over a year to Jeremy (my brother). This has been an indescribably difficult time for our family and especially Jeremy. He is an unquestionably dedicated husband and has been by her bedside the whole time.
We all remain hopeful for her recovery, but we know this is going to be a long long road. We appreciate any support you can provide and will try to update this regularly on her progress.
The family team supporting Megan.
Thank you again from our family and on behalf of Megan for taking the time to read this and offering your support. Words can't express how grateful we feel even in this horrible time.
In early September my younger brother Jeremy's wife Megan, a healthy 27 year old woman fell ill with a rare strain of E.Coli. The strain is O157:H7 and produces something called Shiga Toxins. Normally with E.Coli, you get sick and you get over it, much like normal food poisoning.
Unfortunately Megan wasn't so lucky. Towards the end of September after a long bout of gastrointestinal issues, she showed no improvement and her health continued to decline. In late September, she had to be rushed to the emergency room. Upon doing some tests it was determined that she was in renal (kidney) failure. Her condition quickly deteriorated and she was transported to a major hospital in eastern Washington State.
She was admitted into the ICU where we found out she was in multi-system organ failure and slipping fast. They quickly put her on dialysis and plasmapheresis to filter out the toxins from her blood since her kidneys were no longer functioning.
Megan had developed a complication from the Shiga Toxins called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. This condition is extremely extremely rare in young adults and is most commonly found in children, but even then is still extremely rare. The playbook for her condition is small and limited.
Megan continued to decline and started having myoclonic seizures which were very intense and difficult to watch.
With Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, the toxins essentially destroy the red blood cells in the body. The kidneys can't filter out these broken red blood cells effectively and it starts to damage and can ultimately destroy the kidneys, in extreme cases it can also cause strokes.
Unfortunately, Megan has had every complication that she possibly can with this condition and ended up having an thrombotic stroke. This means that her blood clotted in vessels in her brain and stopped blood flow to her frontal lobe. It is different than a hemmorhagic stroke in where the blood vessel bursts.
After the stroke Megan fell into a coma for 9 days and we feared the worst. She has since come out of the coma but has paralysis in her right side, blindness on the right side and is unable to communicate. She is still fighting for her life.
Our whole family is here in Eastern Washington away from our homes. Resources are starting to run low. Lodging, unpaid time away from work, gas and other necessities are starting to pile up. We have waited until we absolutely needed it to begin asking for help.
We need help. 100% of what we collect will go towards helping us all be there for Megan, making sure her bills and ours are paid.
Megan is a wonderful, compassionate and happy person. She loves hockey (a devout Blackhawks fan). She has been married for just over a year to Jeremy (my brother). This has been an indescribably difficult time for our family and especially Jeremy. He is an unquestionably dedicated husband and has been by her bedside the whole time.
We all remain hopeful for her recovery, but we know this is going to be a long long road. We appreciate any support you can provide and will try to update this regularly on her progress.
The family team supporting Megan.
Thank you again from our family and on behalf of Megan for taking the time to read this and offering your support. Words can't express how grateful we feel even in this horrible time.
Organizer
Jare Smith
Organizer
Port Moody, BC
