Help Laura's Medical Expenses

Hello! My name is Jessica, and I am one of Laura Butera's daughters. She recently had a major accident falling down her basement stairs. My mom was found at least 20 hours after the accident occurred and was immediately rushed to the hospital. The doctors realized the extent of her injuries were much worse than anticipated and decided to have her flown downstate to one of the best trauma centers in Michigan. However, the doctors were nervous she was too unstable for the flight, and we chose to trach her. After arriving at the hospital, I was told the extent of her injuries consisted of a brain bleed, multiple fractures in her face, and a broken wrist. The past few weeks has consisted of a lot of long nights and phone calls, but my mom has been a trooper through it all.

The surgeon fixed both broken bones in her wrist the following week. In the beginning, she wasn't responding very much to the neuro tests and was having difficulty with the breathing tests. My mom slowly came off of sedation and proved to us she wanted to fight. The swelling in her face started to go down, and she was able to open one eye then eventually both. Her heart gave us a scare for a week when she went into AFib. Cardiology was consulted and they put her on medication to try and regulate her heart rate. Some nights it didn't seem to work, and they needed to shock her. Her heart is finally doing so much better, and everything seems to be looking up. She passed her breathing test and had the trach taken out last week. She is now talking quietly and even started physical therapy.

My mom doesn't need any other surgical intervention at the moment. Which is fantastic news! She will need a lot of rehabilitation though and has a long road to recovery. Her short-term memory is quite a bit lost. My sister, Dana, and I are trying to travel down to visit with her as often as possible to build her memory back up. However, the 4/5-hour trip we both have to make can be quite expensive, along with all of her medical bills. If you know me, you know I really hate asking for help. But I really do need it because I'm in charge of all her finances at the moment and I am very overwhelmed. I understand not everyone can donate money, but I would really appreciate any little bit we can get. I'd like to thank everyone who has reached out for support during this time.