Fundraiser for Diana Parkin - Medical expenses

Our sweet niece Diana is fighting for her life against a horrible bacterial infection that has taken over her 12 yr old body and in a matter of days has turned her and her family’s lives upside down. Doctors do not know where Diana picked up this infection, but they believe the bacterial strain is MRSA, it appears to have started near her spine and has spread throughout her body.

Diana was life-flighted via helicopter to Primary Children’s Medical Center on Wednesday, June 21st. She was instantly placed on a ventilator as pneumonia was found in both lungs, the infection was spreading throughout her entire body, and her family was notified she had Sepsis and respiratory failure. The speed at which her condition deteriorated was almost unbelievable! In a matter of a few days Diana went from what doctors thought was a muscle injury from swimming to being in critical condition, sedated in a medically induced coma and fighting for her life. She never even had a fever! Diana’s dad, Tom watched 6 doctors, 9 nurses and 4 helicopter ambulance personnel work on his daughter. He said it was gut wrenching.

The next couple of days were terrifying as one complication after another seemed to occur.

During a surgical procedure to insert a tube in each lung to drain the fluid, they almost lost her. While inserting the tube into her 2nd lung her spleen was nicked and a risky emergency surgery had to be done. Doctors weren’t sure her heart could take the surgery but they were told if the spleen was not repaired and the internal bleeding stopped Diana would not survive. Her parents were just given a moment to say goodbye before they whisked her away into surgery, all they could do was wait and pray. Luckily the surgeon was able to find the bleed and repair it, saving her spleen and her life. Her surgical team left her stomach open for quick access to her internal organs in case additional emergency surgeries were needed.

Doctors warned that Diana would likely become more sick over the next day or two which did indeed happen. She earned the title of the sickest child in Primary Children’s Hospital, which was hard to imagine. Her blood vessels haven’t been able to handle all the fluids and medications getting pumped through her so they are leaking, causing her entire body to be puffy. But Diana is a fighter and her doctors have been amazed at her strength and what she has been able to endure!

On Saturday, June 24th they removed her braces in preparation for an MRI, unfortunately she was not stable enough to proceed, but doctors were anxious to track the infection through her body and also to scan her brain. Over the weekend friends and family were able to come for brief visits. Some of her friends have also been calling and leaving voicemail messages for Diana which they have been able to play for her along with some of her favorite YouTube videos. Doctors say she can hear voices and that this kind of familiar stimulation can be calming and helpful while she is sedated.

On Monday afternoon, she was able to be taken down for her MRI which lasted about 5 hours. Then late Monday night (around midnight, as I am writing this) Diana is moving her eyebrows and starting to wake up! One dedicated nurse instantly turned into 5 nurses and 4 doctors. Her parents were able to talk to her briefly, but she was very groggy and unable to respond due to the breathing tube. As her oxygen was dropping, doctors quickly determined it was too early to let her wake up so they sedated her again. Doctors say the MRSA infection will likely still get worse before it gets better but now with the MRI results they can determine the best treatment plan going forward and target the pockets of infection directly.

We know that Diana’s medical bills will be enormous and doctors are saying she could be at Primary Children’s for several weeks or even months recovering, so we are doing this fundraiser in hopes of helping Tom pay for some of these expenses and lightening his financial load just a little. For those of you that don’t know Tom personally, he is a single dad who is a wonderful father and would never ask for this help himself. Tom has 2 adult sons, but his little girls (Diana and Audrey) have been his life, his best friends and frankly his reason for living. We would love to show him that he is not alone in this and that there is a huge community willing to show their support to him and Diana during this challenging time.

Thank you in advance for your love, support and prayers for Diana. Any contribution at all to her medical expenses would help tremendously. Lastly, if you are willing to help us get the word out by sharing this fundraiser with your social network, we would be forever grateful.

100% of the funds raised will go to her father to be put toward Diana’s medical expenses.

Thank you!