This is Charissia, and I am helping raise funds for JoEllen Flynn and family. This is Kenny Martinez's mom, Mini's Grandma, and Mike Ihnot's Girlfriend. Some may know what has happened with Jo's health and the condition she is in. It has all happened so fast and has been a struggle with many ups and downs. Sadly, with all that has occurred, Mike has had to quit his job as they expected him not to have his phone on him and required him to stay even if the hospital called. He has to be able to run to the hospital if something happens. How things can play out for the day is unknown, so we all have to be ready to go. However, with Jo in her condition and Mike needing to be there, bills need to be paid. This includes mortgage, car payment, car insurance, utilities, gas to and from the hospital, and medical expenses. This is going to be a long road, and anything would help.
Backstory:
JoEllen Flynn has been in the hospital since May 19th. She had been having knee issues with her knee and went to 2 different doctors, and they told her it was arthritis. One week passed, and the pain worsened, so Jo and Mike went in again. The 2nd doctor looked at her old X-ray and said it's arthritis and old age, so go home and rest. Mike and Jo said there has to be more and want to do a scan or something. The doctor said it's normal and it will be fine. Two days later, she fell, getting out of bed, and Mike called an ambulance and rushed her in.
Her blood pressure was super high. They got her heart and blood pressure stable, then looked at her knee. They said she could have a blood clot cause she was in AFIB. They did an MRI on her knee and found she had Necrotizing Fasciitis (a very dangerous infection). This is the same knee the 2 Doctors insisted was simply arthritis. They rushed her into emergency surgery at 1130 at night (May 19th) and removed a bunch of dead infected skin and fluid. Afterward, she still wasn't getting better. They then find from tests that she has a UTI and her kidneys are not working. So they sedated her to keep her relaxed and started a massive round of antibiotics and constant dialysis to clean all her blood and make her kidneys wake up. She got sepsis a day after her first surgery.
After a second surgery, they found that she has a heart condition, her kidneys are not functioning properly, she is type 2 diabetic, her blood sugars were insanely over, and she has Cirrhosis of the liver (healthy cells are replaced by scar tissue). She was then fully sedated with breathing and feeding tubes until they could get her blood pressure and heart rate to stabilize.
Doctors informed Mike Tuesday morning (21st) that if she hadn't come in when she did, she would have died at home within a day or two... She also developed a state of delirium after waking up from 2 days of complete sedation. She was super loopy, her words were mixed up, and some jarble came out sometimes. They said it should wear off soon. If it didn't, there was a small possibility of some damage from everything going on, and with her body shutting down and all the meds and other treatments, there could be a loss of blood flow to the brain at some point. Luckily, this was cleared, and no damage was found.
Jo got pulled off Dialysis Monday night (27th). They were giving her a day off dialysis to see if her kidneys would start functioning better on their own.
She doesn't want to eat on her own but keeps trying to pull her feeding tube out. They still need to look at her heart with some dye, but they want to wait to see how her kidneys do.
Jo is hopefully getting put in a new room today (Friday 31st). She has been downgraded from intensive care. The bad news part is they are thinking that her kidneys may not want to start functioning, so she is going to have to do dialysis every other day currently. They hope that by the time she is done with rehab and ready to be released, her kidneys will be functioning.
The likelihood is still up in the air, so we have to try to prepare her and our family for the possibility of a long-term Healthcare plan. Unfortunately, the one facility in Rapid that has what she needs regarding the type of care is complete. If there are no openings by the time she is released, we may have to send her to Sioux Falls until she is better.
She is more alert, says short phrases, can look at someone when they are talking, and focuses more. However, she is struggling with all this physically and mentally. For those who know Jo, she is a very strong and busy person. She tends to put the weight of the world on her shoulders and pushes through to get this done. Working a lot and being there for family. So, her spirit has been defeated as she now has to depend on others to take care of her. She does not want to feel like a burden. For those who know her, it's time to help her and let her know it is ok. She is loved. We don't want her to get through all this and then stress about the money. We want her to be able to breathe, relax, enjoy time with family and friends. Mini especially wants to see her grandma.
We are at a point where we are unsure what direction things will go. But we do need to ask if anyone is willing to help with the mortgage payment and utilities for this upcoming month, at the least. Our supplements from short-term disability and Aflac won't take effect until the middle or end of June, depending on the underwriters. This is all trying to be figured out. Even with this, it would not cover all the bills, including medical. Then, there are the additional costs of further long-term treatment.
We, as a family, would appreciate any help we could get, even if it is $5 at this point.
I will add updates throughout this battle.
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