Help Support Mariana Klodnicki's Family
On May 22, 2021, Mariana Klodnicki was rushed into Good Shepherd Hospital because she was having difficulty breathing. A week prior, she was sick with what we thought was just another one of her sinus infections. She was given extra oxygen for her duration at Good Shepherd, which only seemed to help a little. She met with both infectious disease doctors and pulmonary doctors, she was treated with antibiotics and later steroids, neither helping her. First they thought it might be some type of pneumonia, an autoimmune disease, or a reaction to a medication she took a long time ago. She was given countless chest X-Rays to detect any changes, they showed that whatever she had was severely attacking her lungs, and they were deteriorating quickly. She had a bronchoscopy which the results came back as negative but showed that she had a lot of fluid in her lungs.
For almost two weeks she was given different treatments to try to help her, and then the doctors decided to do a lung biopsy to further help them understand what was going on. On June 1st, she went into surgery for her lung biopsy, she was moved into the ICU after. Surgery went well, but she needed to be sedated and on a ventilator to recover, we were told it would only be a few days. Little did we know that's how she would be til the end. She was given strong steroids again, but they weren't helping her improve. Her biopsy was sent to Mayo Clinic, which was backed up, then sent to Cleveland Clinic. Her blood oxygen levels were between 88-95 at this time. She started running a fever, and doctors weren't sure why. On June 12th, she was transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL, one of the top pulmonary hospitals in the country. The doctors at Loyola worked hard together to try to figure out what was going on, consulting with doctors from Rush and Northwestern.
On Sunday, June 20, she was taken off the sedation enough to understand commands and communicate with us. She wasn't able to talk because of the ventilator, but she was able to answer yes or no questions, and we were able to tell her how much we love her. A few days later she was put back on her sedation medicine because she was fighting the tube and getting too anxious. Her blood oxygen levels were around 83-88 at this time.
On Wednesday June 30th, her doctor told us that her lungs were leaking air and so was her esophagus because they weren't able to get a good seal with the ventilator, and that her blood oxygen levels would continue to get lower and lower, and soon her organs would start to fail. We were given two options. Slowly watch her oxygen levels get lower and lower, or stop her pain and suffering by taking out the ventilator, which we were told she would only last minutes without.
On Thursday July 1st, we were in contact with Gift of Hope, the organ donation center of Illinois. Mariana was registered as an organ donator, and we were told they might be able to donate her kidneys. Of course we agreed because this is what Mariana would have wanted, she was a giver.
On Friday, July 2nd at 9:22 in the morning, Mariana passed away with her husband, and her three children at her side, telling her everything would be okay. The doctors still don't know what it was or what caused it.Later that day the family received a call saying they were able to donate her kidneys to two people, she was able to save two people.
This has been a very long journey for both Mariana and her family. At Good Shepherd, because of COVID, the visiting hours were strict, and only 2 designated people were able to visit Mariana, which was her husband, John, and her daughter, Lauren. Both went to see her everyday, bringing her favorite food and drinks, even scratch off gambling cards, anything to help cheer her up. On June 1st, the day of her lung biopsy surgery, Good Shepherd's visiting hours opened up to anyone, 1 person at a time, so her other children were able to visit her, but at this time she wasn't able to speak. This has been an emotionally and mentally draining rollercoaster, there were many days of hope and many days of let downs. Mariana fought as hard as she could everyday, for as long as she could. The doctors did everything they could, keeping her comfortable until her last breath.
Mariana was the life of the party, everywhere she went. Always finding a way to make others laugh and smile. She was loved by her family, friends, and community. She was a preschool paraprofessional, and touched the lives of many teachers, students and their families. Before this she was a stay at home mom for many years for her three children, and this was the best job she said she could ever have had.
While many of the medical costs are covered by insurance, there are a lot of out-of-pocket medical expenses associated with her treatment. Her total medical expenses are close to $400,000 because of all the testing, X-Rays, blood work, ICU room stays, consultations from different specialists, and treatments. Her family is raising money to help ease the financial burden, allowing them to focus on each other and the memories they have of their mom. Please help share her story and raise money to help support her family. Thank you in advance for supporting our loved one.
Her favorite day of the week was Friday, and every Friday she would say "It's f'n great to be alive", and it is. We hope you think of her when you hear this quote and the love she had for life. We will always remember her with her bright red lipstick and her infectious laugh.