Helping Samuel Loya after a seizure

On March 21, 2020, 23 year old Samuel Loya suffered a massive seizure that lasted an hour and forty-five minutes. Samuel has had a long history with epilepsy but none of his previous encounters were this severe. Samuel could not be medi flighted from a remote mountain town  until paramedics determined he was stable enough for travel.  That delay contributed to his injuries. He was then transported to UC Davis where he was admitted to ICU. Being that this is also when the COVID-19 Pandemic began, his parents and family were not able to visit him. His father was only allowed a 5 minute visit! Samuel's seizure was so traumatic that it ultimately broke down all of his muscles, releasing toxins into his blood and causing renal failure. In the beginning, his doctors had a very grim expectancy for his survival. He was given a tracheotomy to breathe and has endured several procedures over these past several months, including emergency surgery to remove fluid surrounding his heart.

But Samuel's family has remained hopeful and Samuel is a fighter! Samuel is finally able to breathe on his own and is able to make facial expressions. He has finally been released to rehabilitate at home with his family after nearly 7 months in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. Unfortunately though, this requires 24 hour care from his family, including maintaining his G-Tube for feeding and travel to specialists on a weekly basis (sometimes more frequently). Samuel is completely bedridden at this time and requires specialized transportation services for his medical needs. Samuel's medical insurance does not cover all of his transportation services and his family has had to make modifications to their home to make it wheelchair accessible.

Samuel is surrounded by a loving and faithful family who are determined to give him the best care possible. He has many obstacles to overcome still, such as learning to swallow, speak, walk without assistance, etc. He basically has to learn everything he once knew. While Samuel's future is unknown, his family is hopeful and prayerful and will do everything possible to help him. This was definitely an unforeseen tragedy as nobody ever anticipates something this traumatic happening to their children.

Let's be the community we are known to be and love, support and lift this family up any way that we can.