Help Gail's Family with Funeral Expenses

Our family suffered a tragic loss when Marla Gail Sikes died suddenly on October 13, 2024.

For those who knew Gail, she was a kind, loving, family woman, with a great smile and a huge heart. She was married to the love of her life, Keith, until he passed away in 2018. Gail had one daughter, two granddaughters and two great grandsons. All the girls, at one time or another, lived with Gail after her husband passed away and helped care for Gail when she went through cancer and knee problems. Gail was living life to the fullest after surviving breast cancer for 3 years, all to have it taken away unexpectedly.

Gail had knee replacement surgery on Friday, October 11, 2024, as an outpatient. She was sent home to recover, and her daughter was there to make sure she had everything she needed. On Sunday morning, after moving from her bedroom to her living room, she could barely breathe. Her daughter called for an ambulance. When the EMTs arrived, her pulse ox was in the 90s and the EMTs thought she was having a panic attack. The EMTs put her in an ambulance and headed to the ER. The EMTs told her daughter to come later so they would have a car to get back home. Everyone believed it was a panic attack because her oxygen level was good.

Her brother had no idea all of this had transpired. He had spoken with her on Friday night and she sounded good. She was excited to get through the recovery process, she was feeling no significant pain, and they laughed about her plans for moving on with her life!

We received a call shortly after 11:00 Sunday from the ER saying her brother was listed as Gail’s emergency contact, and they needed him to go to the hospital. He tried to find out what was going on, but they would only tell him the doctors were with Gail, and he needed to be there. He headed towards the hospital and called Gail's daughter on the way. She, too, headed towards the hospital.

When family arrived at the ER, they were escorted to the “Family Room” and told the doctor would be in shortly. They felt in their hearts that Gail had either passed or was on life support, but never spoke it out loud. The doctor, nurse and Chaplin came in and explained Gail had arrived unresponsive, they tried to revive her and were unsuccessful. Our beloved Gail was gone.

Based on a report from the head nurse at the hospital, once in the ambulance, everything went downhill quickly. Gail coded. The EMTs worked tirelessly while enroute to the ER to revive her. Upon arrival at the ER, she had no pulse and was not breathing. The physicians tried for 30 minutes to revive Gail but were unable to bring her back. A pulmonary embolism had passed through her lungs and caused her death.

A little something about Marla Gail:

Gail grew up in Augusta, GA. She was a loving daughter and sister to two brothers. She was the youngest among the three siblings and had a close relationship with them. She worked hard to fulfill her dreams and to provide for her family. She was a widow who had a heart of gold. She was a survivor of breast cancer and gave the Lord all the glory for her recovery. She loved her family, especially her daughter, granddaughters, and great grandsons. She was a caregiver her entire life. She helped take care of her grandmother, her mother, her husband, and many others along the way. She loved helping the elderly and being there for them – to make them laugh, make them smile, make sure they had everything they needed. She also loved animals and was known to take in many strays over the years.

Gail was also a very kind and reliable friend. She would cheerfully lend an ear to her many friends, and always offered thoughtful and generous words of encouragement or advice, if asked. She loved the beach! She would call a girlfriend at a minute’s notice and drive 3 hours to the beach just to collect seashells, feel the saltwater on her face, and listen to the waves! She loved riding her husband’s Harley with her best friend. She had an infectious laugh and a smile that would light up the room.

Gail did not have medical or life insurance. Her daughter is currently in the process of planning her funeral. Please consider donating to help relieve some of the financial hardships on her daughter. May God bless you – and remember to keep your family close, forgive often, love unconditionally.