Hello everyone, and thank you in advance for taking the time and energy to read this. My name is Sara and I’m raising funds for my dear cousin and closest friend Maria Godinez, who is currently in the hospital battling for her life in ICU. Maria is a single mother who is going through a very traumatic time not only for herself but also for her 4 children, she could use support and prayers from anyone able and willing.
On March 3rd, 2021 Maria was involved in a near-fatal car accident, her vehicle was t-boned by another driver while on her way home from work. Her broken clavicle, arm and orbital bone have since healed but the significant damage to her spinal cord and surrounding nerves has lingered now for the better part of a year going on two and has progressively worsened. Pain from the spinal injuries is so severe that it causes temporary loss of motor and sensory function in her lower body for weeks at a time. Multiple nerve block procedures and a Vertebral Augmentation surgery have had a minimal effect. The pain experienced can become so uncontrollable that it’s caused her multiple seizures and intubation, without having a history of epilepsy. Maria amid a global pandemic was in and out of the hospital for the remainder of 2021 following the accident and has been hospitalized as an inpatient for most of 2022 with her family and kids unable to frequent due to covid restrictions. Unable to work and having no source of income she shared fears of losing her home that she has worked so hard for because she cannot pay the mortgage. That recently evolved into a family’s fear of losing her on Dec. 15th, 2022, a pain-caused seizure led to a sudden cardiac arrest. The heart attack resulted in her being in ICU where Doctors had to perform life-saving measures. Recommended emergency heart surgery to try and prevent future heart problems has now been scheduled, with future spinal surgeries down the road to focus on the root of these medical issues. She currently has no health insurance and medical costs continue to add up, our family is helping in any way we can. We’re currently working with a social worker to try to get her on Medi-Cal CA with some form of retroactive coverage but there is a good chance she will have to pay out-of-pocket for her medical expenses up to this point. Her children are still fairly young and most are still in school they can’t offer much financial assistance. I and other family members are doing what we can to aid financially but we can only offer so much with limited resources. As of now, she’s looking at medical costs totaling upwards of $200,000 for all the surgeries had, including hospitalization and ICU visits. What that doesn’t include are the pending heart and future spinal surgeries. Not to mention the additional follow-up visits post-surgery and outpatient physical therapy required to regain her strength and mobility. Our entire family as a whole has had to endure one nightmarish year, earlier this May, Maria’s mother and my aunt passed away and she was unable to attend funeral services due to her health condition. Two days after her mother passed, Maria’s brother-in-law passed away after years of battling cancer. Mourning a family member is never easy but losing two in three days took a toll on our entire family in more ways than one. With her children’s consent and permission, I’ve created this fundraiser to help alleviate some of the financial pressure and stress of the increasing medical bills this family now faces. A long road towards recovery awaits her and that alone is a tall order, she doesn’t deserve to also have to worry about potentially losing her and her children’s home. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards her continuously growing medical expenses including saving her home and supporting her children while she recovers.
Any little bit helps, and all are appreciated beyond words. Thank you to everyone for your continued love and support.
Happy holidays, God bless.
https://gofund.me/c6da1eb4