Karina Gomes Hospital Fund

On December 29, 2021 at approximately 2:39AM, Karina Gomes was involved in a horrible car accident. She is currently being treated in the ICU at Moses Cone. From the accident, she has suffered a small brain bleed, several fractured ribs, a large cut across her head, a laceration to the liver, and was placed on a ventilator.

Please keep Karina and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Updates are as follows:

12/29- First Update:

Karina has a little bit of a collapsed lung. Today, she will get a CT-scan of her neck and neck vessels. Later tonight she will have another CT-scan of the brain to see if the bleeding has stabilized. She is currently on fentanyl for the pain. The doctor said she may need physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

Continue to pray for her as she endures this.

12/29- Evening Update:

This afternoon Karina went in for the CT-scan of her neck and neck vessels, they are having "spasms." The doctor said it may be because of the trauma her body has endured and they will continue to monitor it. She has been put on Keppra as a seizure prevention. At 6PM she went to get the CT-scan of her brain to assess the bleeding, there was no change.

12/30- Morning Update:

Karina was stable throughout the night and this morning she was taken off the ventilator. She is breathing with the help of oxygen. When she first woke up she didn't comprehend much that was happening, but that is normal with head trauma. Today, a speech therapist will be coming in to evaluate her and a physical therapist will also be in to check her balance. The bleeding in her brain has gotten better, so no surgery will be needed. An orthopedist also came by to check her wrist and the fracture is so minor, she only needs a brace. The laceration to her liver seems to be healing and should not cause any harm. Her lungs are getting stronger and the doctors said the last x-ray looked promising.

12/30- Evening Update:

After the incubation tubes were removed, Karina has had a very hard time swallowing, so they are holding off on food and drink for now. She has not managed to say one thing straight and she has been very combative - kicking and waiving her arms, pulling at her IV's, ripping her brace off, pulling on her catheter, and even biting her oxygen tubing. There were times she did not even know who her mom was. Sedation and pain medication had to be limited due to her blood pressure being too low. Please pray for a restful night for Karina.

12/31- Morning Update:

Karina spent the night on and off. Although doctors were worried about her blood pressure, they gave her a low dosage of her pain medication. Overnight, when Karina was awake, she was everywhere - stripping her gown off, pulling at her catheter, biting her oxygen tubes, etc. She tried using the bedpan, but never comprehended how to use it. Finally she tried the toilet and after a while, she succeeded. Due to the trauma her brain has endured and the concussion, Karina is not comprehending anything or talking straight. This part can take days. Swallowing tests will only be done when she is able to stay still and comprehend what is happening. So in the meantime it has been applesauce and 10 teaspoons of water a day. Karina is under 100lbs, prior to her accident she was very depressed and barely ate. She wouldn't be hungry for 2-3 days and her mother had to force her to eat. With that, a nutritionist was called in, in order to get Karina the calories she needs through her IV.

12/31- Evening Update:

There has been no change with Karina today. The doctors said it would be days due to her concussion and trauma to her brain. Again, please pray for a restful night. 

1/1/22 Update:

Karina woke up several times during the night with pain, but when she was given pain medication she went right back to sleep. The doctors assured Karina's mom that she would make a full recovery, but it's going to take time. Karina still doesn't remember what happened and sometimes doesn't know where she is. Again, she failed the swallowing test so she still can't have liquids. She can have applesauce, pudding, and ice cream. She tried drinking some water last night - choked and vomited. Doing this can cause fluid to enter her lungs, which don’t want. Please continue to pray, she is in a lot of pain. She says her head and whole body hurts. She still has a neck brace in place to protect the back of her head and neck - and to prevent further injury.

1/2/22 Update:

Karina has not been well today. Lots of chills and cold sweats all day. She has a heated blanket on, along with many, many other blankets - even around her head. She hasn't had any food or drink today so the nurses had to give it to her through her IV.

~ Karina's father will not be coming to see his daughter. His excuse is that he lives too far away - when in reality, you NEVER live too far away to visit your daughter in the ICU. He cannot and will not step up to the plate. He conveniently failed to claim Karina on his insurance for the 2021 year, therefore at the time of her accident she had no medical insurance. The new insurance for 2022 has very large deductibles and as all of you know, hospital bills are extremely expensive. 

Karina will likely be in the hospital for several weeks recovering from this horrific accident.

Please donate to this family in their time of need, anything helps. ~