Donate to help Susannah with her recovery

Dear friends,

I am starting this Go Fund Me page for my sister, Susannah. Susannah was admitted to hospital from April 6 - June 29, very unexpectedly, due to a viral illness. She then had multiple complications, landing her in the ICU for the majority of her hospital stay.

She developed severe Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), requiring injections of epinephrine at a dose higher than an epi-pen; she was also maxed out on an epi drip in the ICU to prevent intubation.

Susannah then experienced anticholinergic toxicity five times during her hospital stay, one requiring 2 doses of an antidote to save her life. This has left her with ongoing complications, even as an outpatient now discharged home with home care. She continues to live with partial anticholinergic toxicity at all times from the medications required to keep her breathing.

Due to being in ICU for so long, her body has become very weak. At this time she is only able to walk with a walker, has to wear sunglasses at all times for severe photosensitivity and vision issues, has ongoing GI issues (an NJ tube was required to be placed and administer treatment directly to her small bowel, and there is high risk of this occurring again), a tremor in her right hand, and a current fracture to her right wrist from falling when trying to reach her walker in the early morning.

We are fortunate that Susannah survived multiple life threatening emergencies and that she has returned home to her husband and young son.

The medications required to keep her out of hospital, anticipated to be a lifelong requirement, are either rare or new. She struggles to cover the cost of these medications monthly, which exceeds $700. She also faces a significant amount of debt accumulated during her hospital stay.

Susannah is unable to work at this time. It is unknown how long it will take her to recover and what recovery will look like for her. Susannah is a nurse - she loves to take care of others and struggles to ask for help when needed. She is a greatly loved sister, daughter, mother, wife, friend to all. Any donation towards Susannah’s recovery is appreciated beyond words. We couldn’t thank you enough for the support during this difficult time. Susannah is young and has so much life ahead of her.

With great sincerity, Jake