Recovery Support for Linda Pedro

UPDATE: 8/20/14

Linda is speaking and eating! She is needing some other healing help that is not always covered by insurance. Recently a room was made available for Daniel. This has helped reduce expenses considerably.

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UPDATE: 8/2/14

Linda is currently at Kindred Hospital in Albuquerque. The donations are being used for gas, food and lodging for folks to be with her. Having Daniel close by is a HUGE help to her recovery! We have a longer road ahead of us, and still need more support to help keep him close to his mother. Thank you all for your ongoing support!

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Linda Pedro has fallen ill. She currently is at Presbyterian Hospital in Española, NM. For details and updates on her condition, please visit her blog.

As many of you know, Linda has been in a wheel chair for the last 47 years. Due to her quadriplegia, Linda requires 24/7 in home care.

Her staff is exceptional. Some have been working for her for over 15 years. They are all experts in taking care of Linda's daily needs. Everything from driving her places to cleaning the house to bathing her. If you know Linda, then you are familiar with seeing her helpers with her at all times.

Linda is able to afford this help through a state program. Unfortunately, the program only covers in home care. Once hospitalized, the staff is no longer paid for their 18-48 hour shifts. While the nursing staff at Presbyterian is fully qualified to care for Linda's medical needs, there are specific needs arising from her quadriplegia that can go unfilled.

As a simple example, Linda is unable to press the call button for a nurse. She needs a helper to do this. Additionally, her inability to move means that she needs to be adjusted in her bed often. She has specific physical limitations that are sometimes not readily apparent to both lay people and medical professionals. Her staff fills this gap in terms of movement and knowledge. These women are integral to a full recovery for Linda.

We would like to raise money to keep Linda's staff employed during any lapses in pay from her in home care program. Currently, we are estimating her stay to be 6 weeks. The staff take home between them, roughly $2,000/week. Over 6 weeks this is a total of $12,000.

Any funds raised above the needed wages will be put toward household bills that Linda may have. Being on a fixed income, Linda sometimes struggles to make ends meet. We would like to be able to remove this worry for her, so she can concentrate on healing.

Thank you so much for your support!! Linda and her staff thank you all!!

Edit: With the move to Albuquerque, the option for having her staff on hand has become less realistic. However, we still need support for folks that will be staying near the hospital to be with Linda. We will leave the goal at it's current amount. We just wanted to let you know of this shift in strategy. Funds will be directed to room and board, gas money and incidentals for folks that are able to spend a day or two at Linda's side.

As funds are spent, we will post a detailed accounting so you all know where your donations are going!

Thank you again!