Most people know by now the challenges my mom has undergone this summer. In a six week span of time she had three hospital and rehab stays from the diagnoses of early onset heart failure, kidney failure and C-19.
On August 11th, my brother flew in town to see about her. Her behavior that day was a little off but we chalked that up to being tired from all of this sudden sickness. After dinner everyone was relaxing and lounging around. I came back in from the porch to find her slumped off of the couch, head thrown back, face pale and right arm twisted in a peculiar angle. I ran over to her, snatched her up and threw her on the couch. Because my kids and I are used to her having low blood sugar attacks, we immediately got into our routine. My daughter made her a sandwich and juice, my son called 911 and I was checking her blood sugar. Her levels were so high they didn't even give me a number it just said HI. The squad arrived and the crew carried her out to the squad. We learned later that she coded right there in front of our house. Said it took them around 5 minutes to bring her back. Her sugars were over 1,300, clinically anything over 100 is high. Her heart rate was 34. She slipped into a coma, so they started a medically induced coma to keep her comfortable.
She lay there in a coma on a ventilator, a temporary external pacemaker (which thank God we didn't have to do an internal permanent one as suggested) and now a new and lifetime dialysis patient.
⁰Well let me tell you, I KNOW THE LORD REAL and He heard the cries and prayers of His children!!! Mama woke up from the coma. Her speech and her thoughts are slower, but believe me, she's still as sassy as ever🥰! She is gaining strength in her arms, legs and core everyday. But, she has lost her vision and there are no eye doctors that travel to skilled nursing facilities and she hasn't quite reached the mobilization level they require to take her to an optometrist. She is also on a feeding tube and has Bell's Palsy.
So because she has been stabilized, she must now be moved to a nursing home that provides physical and speech therapy AND dialysis 3 times a week. Or as the lady from the SNF told me, I can bring her home on hospice without dialysis (allegedly there are no dialysis chairs available within 100 miles of Omaha) and she would die between a week and a month.
So a facility capable of taking care of mom's needs has a spot available! The catch is that it's in Chicago!! I need to go check out this place, meet the doctors and case managers and get mom settled in. And this is all supposed to take place on or around October 7-9! To do that, I desperately need your help. I'm going to need help with hotel fees, a flight there and back, food and transportation in the city. This is truly the hardest thing I have ever been through in my life and it's hard for me to lay my pride to the side and ask for help. But anyone who knows us knows we are two peas in a pod. She's my mama and one of my closest friends. I'll do anything in the world for her. No donation is too small and we (mama, her kids and grandkids) all humbly thank you. 🙏🏽God bless you all!
