Danis Journey as a Quad-amputee after heart failure & sepsis

Hello, my name is Mariana Diaz. I am starting this on behalf of my little sister Dani.

This all started while we were on a road trip. We had planned to drive from California where she lives, to my home in Colorado and stay a few days and then continue on through a few more states.

We had gone to explore a few places, and Dani began to feel very weak and lost motivation to move and even eat. She started feeling a lot of chest pain alongside of that.

We all thought this was abnormal as she has always been a very active person.

We had gone back to my house to celebrate 4th of July and that night/the morning of the 5th Danis life changed forever!

She had gotten progressively worse. After feeling multiple scary symptoms, we rushed her to the hospital.

They had surprisingly sent her back that day to my home with some medications to try and help.

To put this in short terms that night at my home she continued to get significantly worse! A lot worse! She felt she couldn't breathe, she had a blotchy rash under her skin, she was sweating but cold to touch and her lips turned grayish purple! She could barely move. We knew something was wrong! She kept saying her heart felt like it was going to explode and continued screaming for help.

We immediately rushed her back to the hospital (July 6th)

They did multiple tests and hooked her up to multiple machines.

My sister was then admitted into Memorial Hospital of Colorado Springs while we were on vacation. A few hours later, she was transferred to a medical ICU unit, where she was being closely monitored. Doctors and nurses explained that she had inflammation around her heart and COVID and they were trying to figure out why she was declining so fast. We had explained that she has previously had pericarditis/ myocarditis and was hospitalized a few years prior and maybe it could have something to do with that. All they could tell me at that moment was her heartbeat was in tachycardia, her blood pressure was too low, her breathing was slow, and her entire body was swelling up, but they had it under control. Once visiting hours were over, I started to walk out of the hospital when a nurse stopped me to tell me her health was declining fast and that they would call me with more information. Later that night (July 7th), I got the call that my sister would be airlifted immediately from Memorial Hospital to Anschutz Hospital in Denver, Colorado. The nurse on the phone explained that she would be going into a cardiovascular ICU for heart failure. This was now a life threatening situation.

The next day (July 8th) I drove up to see her. When I walked into the room, I saw my sister hooked up to multiple life support machines. She had a catheter in her heart because it was too weak to beat on its own. She was hooked up to dialysis because her kidneys were failing. Multiple IVs were pumping the fluids she needed to help her fight, and she had a breathing tube in her mouth to keep her alive. I touched her hand that day and told her to stay strong; she was ice cold. I knew at that moment that this would be the fight of her life.

What happened?

She had suffered from heart failure. She went into cardiogenic shock then septic and hemorrhagic shock. She was unresponsive to fluids. She was intubated for progressive hypoxemic respiratory failure and started on dialysis for worsening kidney failure and volume overload. Her lungs had collapsed. She had also developed rhabdomyolysis. On top of all that, she was internally bleeding and soooo much more!

On July 9th, I went back to the hospital to see my sister again; at this time, our dad had flown out to be with her. But, this time, before leaving, one of her doctors pulled us into a lobby and told us one of the hardest things we've ever heard: "your sister is fighting for her life, and we are fighting to save her." The doctor explained the medical staff's game plan to us. They explained that on top of COVID and everything else they had also found a severe infection and that the two sent her body into shock, resulting in her body shutting down. Her hands and feet were swollen because her heart couldn't pump blood into her veins. Muscle tissue started to deteriorate because the fluids she needed weren't circulating correctly, and her body wouldn't get rid of excess fluids on its own. Doctors who specialized in different areas worked endlessly to find a cure, an antibody created by donors that could help kill the infection and bring her into stable conditions. Her chances were 50/50. She was given the antibody later that night.

Two days later, a miracle happened!!!!!! Dani's body started showing a positive reaction to the antibodies. Doctors got her blood pressure leveled, and the heart catheter came out. She was still going to be closely monitored in the ICU, but progress was being made!

She was finally extubated weeks after having breathing tubes in for a while.

Let's fast forward to today, July 29th. Dani's health has made significant improvements! However, she is still in ICU and is still considered a trauma patient as of now. Therefore, doctors and nurses are still at her bedside 24/7 until she is out of critical condition. Once she is ready to go into rehab for physical therapy, the goal is to get her transferred back home to Santa Cruz, CA, near her friends and family. Dani's recovery process will be extensive, but she has been so strong throughout this that we know she will surprise us all again!

I have talked to her via FaceTime, and she is in such great spirits! She has asked about all her clients, friends, co-workers, and family, and she tells me how she cannot wait to see everyone in person again, including her dogs Marley and Faith! She is also very grateful to have so much support in her life, and we know that the prayers and positive thoughts continue to help her pull through!

The reason for this GoFundMe is to help with Dani's medical expenses and future expenses including the extensive rehab and the different prosthetics she will need. This can also help her with everyday life and the things she will need for accessibility. She has been in the ICU for 3 months, and we foresee that her continued stay and therapy could also take months or even years. We also really want to get her home, so once she is in rehab, all of us can see her. Any donations made will be used strictly for these purposes.

Our family knows that we are not the only people going through a tough time in life, and we pray just as hard for all of you. We appreciate anything and everything, even if it's a simple prayer for Dani!

We cannot thank you enough for your continued love and support <3