Help Anita Beat All Odds!
Donation protected
Dearest Family, Friends, Acquaintances, or Anonymous Angels, our family is asking for your kind and generous help.
On January 22nd, 2021 our beautiful Anita was rushed to the ER due to stroke-like symptoms where she needed an emergency craniectomy. A craniectomy is a surgery done to remove a part of your skull in order to relieve pressure in the area where the brain swells. In what seemed like an eternity, we learned that Anita suffered a massive stroke from a cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), a blood clot, that led to brain damage and severe brain swelling. Following the lifesaving surgery, she remained in the intensive care unit (ICU) for 10 days, slowly regaining consciousness. When deemed medically stable, Anita was transferred to an acute rehabilitation facility, but unfortunately she was transferred back to the ICU shortly after, suffering further medical complications due to an infection at the surgical site. This sadly resulted in a second brain surgery that was needed to clean the infection. It was an unexpected and devastating setback.
As a result of these painful circumstance, Anita is currently not able to use the right side of her body and she has lost the ability to communicate through speech. It remains evident that she suffers a great deal of pain and much frustration around not having the means to effectively communicate. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. Anita being as courageous and determined as she is has shown progress in recent days - to us right now even a slight movement of a toe is a huge triumph!!! - leaving us hopeful that her recovery, while long, is very possible.
We, as a family, have been struck hard by this, unable to continue our normal daily lives, as we wait for updates, sometimes hourly, on her progress. In addition to the torment of this situation, COVID has made visitation difficult and often impossible, leaving us only with Zoom to try to comfort her.
As we move forward, doctors have advised that it will take years for Anita to recover, and uncertainty of how fully she can recover remains. At this time, she is dependent on a wheelchair for mobility and requires total assistance for her daily living activities and all aspects of functional mobility. She will need a home health care aide to assist with her daily care for some time. Home modifications will need to be made to ensure wheelchair accessibility. Some adaptive equipment and therapeutic devices will also be required to continue her rehabilitation. And in addition, she will be dependent on medication for some time to come.
All the prayers that many of you have sent us, both near and far, have been a godsend during these trying times. If you are able, we graciously ask for and appreciate any financial support you can lend us, as insurance will only cover so much. We will keep you updated on Anita’s progress; which, it will be hopefully exactly that, only progress from this point on.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
On January 22nd, 2021 our beautiful Anita was rushed to the ER due to stroke-like symptoms where she needed an emergency craniectomy. A craniectomy is a surgery done to remove a part of your skull in order to relieve pressure in the area where the brain swells. In what seemed like an eternity, we learned that Anita suffered a massive stroke from a cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), a blood clot, that led to brain damage and severe brain swelling. Following the lifesaving surgery, she remained in the intensive care unit (ICU) for 10 days, slowly regaining consciousness. When deemed medically stable, Anita was transferred to an acute rehabilitation facility, but unfortunately she was transferred back to the ICU shortly after, suffering further medical complications due to an infection at the surgical site. This sadly resulted in a second brain surgery that was needed to clean the infection. It was an unexpected and devastating setback.
As a result of these painful circumstance, Anita is currently not able to use the right side of her body and she has lost the ability to communicate through speech. It remains evident that she suffers a great deal of pain and much frustration around not having the means to effectively communicate. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. Anita being as courageous and determined as she is has shown progress in recent days - to us right now even a slight movement of a toe is a huge triumph!!! - leaving us hopeful that her recovery, while long, is very possible.
We, as a family, have been struck hard by this, unable to continue our normal daily lives, as we wait for updates, sometimes hourly, on her progress. In addition to the torment of this situation, COVID has made visitation difficult and often impossible, leaving us only with Zoom to try to comfort her.
As we move forward, doctors have advised that it will take years for Anita to recover, and uncertainty of how fully she can recover remains. At this time, she is dependent on a wheelchair for mobility and requires total assistance for her daily living activities and all aspects of functional mobility. She will need a home health care aide to assist with her daily care for some time. Home modifications will need to be made to ensure wheelchair accessibility. Some adaptive equipment and therapeutic devices will also be required to continue her rehabilitation. And in addition, she will be dependent on medication for some time to come.
All the prayers that many of you have sent us, both near and far, have been a godsend during these trying times. If you are able, we graciously ask for and appreciate any financial support you can lend us, as insurance will only cover so much. We will keep you updated on Anita’s progress; which, it will be hopefully exactly that, only progress from this point on.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
Organizer
Suzana Knezevic
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC