Pre-Law Student’s Recovery from Cardiac Arrest

*Leilani is our family friend who is organizing the fundraiser. Contact Kamarin’s sister Sonida directly at (spelled out) nine five one, four nine one three one three six.

Written by Sonida, sister of Kamarin:

If you know my family and I, you would know that we typically do not like to ask for help; however, our resources can only get us so far and are not limitless. We’ve given a lot of ourselves to give back to our community when able, and now we are in the vulnerable position of asking for help. Aside from this account, we also have Zelle available should you choose to donate that way. It will be under my father’s name & number (spelled out): Nay Mann, six one nine, five one seven zero zero six two.

Early Monday morning on Nov. 13th, my baby brother Kamarin (Kam), who is only 21 years old, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. It was truly unexpected and ultimately devastating as he is a healthy young man with no known health issues. Without divulging too much detail, from the literal witnessed moment of his cardiac arrest, I have not left my brother’s side and have been fiercely advocating and navigating his path to recovery. When we thought we had lost him forever, Kam has shown us his resilience and determination to fight for his life, so it is only right that we do the same for him. Though my experience as a nurse thus far has allowed me to provide for and make informed medical decisions on his behalf, I can only do so much with the limited resources and knowledge I have. I have been overseeing medical decisions, coordinating next steps in his plan of care, consulting multiple providers and specialties, ensuring all options/avenues of treatment are considered while dealing with his school, work, and other important commitments. His hospital course thus far has been nothing short of challenging and complex. His condition changes constantly and rapidly, but his healthcare team here at Scripps Memorial La Jolla has been phenomenal and has shown us great care and compassion. That being said, we know how expensive healthcare costs can be. Though my family and I will be putting as much as we can into Kam’s care, his medical bill will be exorbitant, and this is where we humbly ask for help.

To demonstrate the type of person Kam is, and to give you an idea of who we are fighting for, allow me to tell you just a few of his accomplishments. Kam is very much an independent, reserved, and selfless person. He is very self-sufficient and attempts to tackle tasks head on without asking for help. He is incredibly dedicated to his studies, as evidenced by his double majoring in Math and Economics with a minor in Political Science at UC San Diego. He was salutatorian of his high school and was the chosen student to give the graduation speech. He was CIF champion of his golf team in high school. His hope is to become a lawyer, and he has demonstrated his academic commitment by interning at the DA’s office in Riverside, interviewing for multiple law firms, and participating in mock trials. To add, Kam is always seen with his face stuck in a book if he isn’t studying or doing homework. He’ll even fall asleep with said books on or near his face. He is always apologetic if he feels he is inconveniencing others. He is very modest – he accepts hand-me-downs and hardly ever asks for anything. As his older sister, I have always put my brother on a pedestal as he’s achieved so much at the young age of 21 years old. Whenever asked about him, I always joke about how he is the “prodigy child” as he’s extremely well-rounded, hardworking, and intelligent. His resume is filled with academic accolades, all with the hopes of wanting to make meaningful contributions to society. I am very emotional while writing this as my brother has done nothing but try to do good in the world, and yet the world has been nothing but cruel to him. He is such a great kid and absolutely does not deserve to be in the condition he is currently in. He is now in an ICU bed, intubated, on multiple life support devices and medications, struggling and fighting for literal life and limb. We are now extremely worried about losing his legs due to his body not acclimating to ECMO. In the span of a few days, his future that he has worked so hard to curate was violently taken away from him. And now, my family, his healthcare providers, and I are determined in fighting to restore the future and health that was stolen from him. My goal now as his older sister is to ensure my brother is able to walk out of this hospital and can resume his journey to law school. If any of you can assist my family & I, we would be eternally grateful. All funds donated will go directly toward his medical care and any leftover funds will go toward his education, as we know that’s what matters to him most. Thank you if you’ve read this far. Pictures below are of my sweet brother & younger sister.

***UPDATES ON KAM AS OF 12/6***

Hello, everyone!

First & foremost, my family and I would like to thank each and every one of you who have donated and shared Kam’s GoFundMe as well as everyone who has reached out to our family during this difficult time. It means the absolute world to us to know so many of you took the time and effort to extend your support to us.

Second, we are excited to share that Kam is making great improvements at a remarkable rate. He is now off the ventilator, off ECMO, and is now transitioning from continuous dialysis (CRRT) to intermittent hemodialysis. He is awake, interactive, and still has his personality and wit. He is still weak and very deconditioned due to being in an ICU bed for the past 3 weeks; however, he is continuously working with physical & occupational therapy to regain strength and dexterity. We are shifting our focus in caring for his lower legs at this time due to the damage they sustained from the whole ordeal.

If any of you are interested in reading further into Kam’s condition and status in detail, we have started a Google Doc containing general updates with simplified explanations of medical terminology and procedures. This is updated when new information or changes arise. Anyone is welcome to access the link here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZlZ9GDzCkVKxc6kfsVdF2sdNX8h1lGUnI43UimnH4E8/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you again to everyone for the love & support :)