Help us, help Nae

Hi, my name is Christina. I am writing on behalf of my sister, Nicole, and my sister-in-law, Nae. Nae went into cardiac arrest last year, which has altered life as they know it taking a toll on them physically, emotionally, and financially resulting in Nae needing around the clock care. Nicole has caregivers who are currently helping her daily while she is at work, however expenses are very costly, and they now have reduced income. As some financial burdens, including treatment, paying for caregivers, medical equipment, special food, diapers, medicine, and specialized medical transportation start to add up I wanted to share Nae’s story in hopes of alleviating the additional stress they are currently experiencing.

In August 2023, Nae collapsed in her home. Luckily, Nicole being home at the time, called the ambulance out of precautionary measures as Nae fell and hit her head while going to the bathroom. What seemed to be only a concussion turned out to be way worse than what anyone could imagine. Nae was conscious when the ambulance arrived, but she went into cardiac arrest while in the ambulance in front of their house. When someone came and told my sister, we still had no idea how severe it was but when Nae was finally stable enough, they transported her to Clear Lake hospital. We did not know how drastically our lives would change that day.

When we arrived at the hospital, we were informed that the EMTs performed CPR for over 20 minutes on Nae. We then found out she had massive pulmonary clots that caused strain on her heart, leading to cardiac arrest. Out of deep concern, the ER physician had Nae life-flighted to Galveston, which had a team of pulmonary surgeons standing by. However once in Galveston, they determined she did not need surgery. They confirmed she had suffered a hypoxic brain injury due to the lack of sufficient oxygen from the cardiac arrest. Nae then had to be intubated and placed in a sedated coma, and that’s when we realized our lives would be forever changed. Our families and Nae’s closest friends immediately rushed to her side in Galveston to provide support and love. For the next 4 weeks Nae remained on life support in the ICU and all we could do was wait.

Nicole stayed by her side the entire time, not leaving the hospital once. You can imagine the toll this would take, physically and mentally. During this time, we had ups and downs, even to the point of not being sure if Nae would make it. It was difficult for Nae’s family, our family, and our friends, but we remained hopeful.

While in Galveston, she was given a PEG feeding tube through her stomach as well as a trach to help with breathing. After 4 weeks, Nae was transferred to a long-term acute care (LTAC) facility in Clear Lake, where she would receive more specialized care. Upon arriving, we found out that she had COVID, then she was diagnosed with a MRSA infection in the blood, and then to top it all off she got pneumonia!! And after all of that her feeding tube became dislodged, and her feeds were going into her abdominal wall, which caused her to get peritonitis and sent her into severe sepsis. We were once again threatened with potentially losing Nae. At this point, she was rushed back to Galveston to have emergency surgery to clean out her abdominal cavity and treat the severe infection. This setback kept her back in Galveston for almost another 3 weeks before she was cleared to return to the LTAC.

After some time in LTAC, Nae no longer needed a ventilator and was slowly becoming more conscious during this time. We celebrated her 34th birthday and her and my sister’s anniversary. Then in late October, Nae was transferred to a rehabilitation facility that specialized in brain injuries to continue her healing. In November, the trach was removed. She was completely breathing on her own. They were able to help determine that she was fully conscious, she continued to be medically stable during therapies and a communication system was developed so we could finally talk to her. We finally felt like we got her back just a little.

After months of therapy and treatment, Nae is fully conscious and aware of things but is currently non-verbal and completely dependent on everyday care. She has dysphasia, so she can’t eat really or speak yet and she is still being fed through a PEG tube. Unfortunately, another issue right now is Nae has what is called cortical blindness, so her vision is really bad, which also has to do with neurons being damaged. They said it is too early to determine if this is a permanent thing or not, as it can take 4-6 months for the eyes to “heal” after a severe brain injury. Her overall prognosis is good, we just have to give time for the neurons to heal.

She is now home with Nicole and will be continuing on her journey of healing as she is receiving in home treatment and rehabilitation.

I can say Nae is the ultimate fighter and has not given up, that is a trait that she displayed before all of this. She continues to improve daily. As with everything, they can’t specify when things will happen or how long it will take. Thankfully her age and the fact that she always tried to take care of herself play a very strong part in her recovery.

We know the recovery process will be a very long and slow journey. Nae and Nicole have a strong support system, which has helped them along the way. Any donation you are willing to give will mean so much to them. If you are unable to donate, please send your prayers and thoughts our way, anything is much appreciated.

If you or a loved one have experience a traumatic brain injury and have treatment recommendations or advice, we would love to hear from you.

If you would like to Venmo Nae/Nicole directly, Venmo them @helpus-helpnae

For more information about hypoxic/non-traumatic brain injury:

https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/types-of-brain-injury/hypoxic-and-anoxic-brain-injury/