Lolita’s Story and Life Legacy

With heavy hearts, we share the passing of our beloved mother, Lolita Davis. At 54 years old, she left us last Thursday, Oct 24th, after an extensive battle with illness. Over the years, she really touched and developed heavy connections with everyone around her, and we want to honor her story and the challenges we faced as her children.

How Can You Help?

We are heartbroken and now ask for your support during this challenging time. We are raising funds for Lolita’s funeral costs and to help her children cope with this loss. Any contributions will help us honor her vibrant spirit and ensure she receives the beautiful farewell she deserves.

A Journey Through Illness

In her mid-30s, Lolita was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, which led to a series of severe health complications: interstitial lung disease, kidney disease, heart failure, severe arthritis, migraines, and more, only prolonging the progression of these incurable diseases. In December 2021, she had to battle COVID-19, which nearly honeycombed half of her lung capacity in a matter of months. She had to stay alone in the hospital with no visitors due to COVID restrictions. Against all odds, her love for her family fueled her will to live.

Lolita was placed on the transplant list in September 2022, shortly after being referred to Northwestern. However, devastating news of diverticulitis shattered her dreams of a new beginning. She was heartbroken that she would no longer be a candidate for a transplant. She then requested to be placed on a breathing tube/ventilator, which led to a 16-day intubation, and from there, her children had to make the tough decision of giving her a tracheotomy. Despite this, her children took the initiative, learning her extensive medical condition every step of the way, including terminology, making decisions on a sequence of over 50 small procedures or even more complex surgeries, and finding multiple rehabilitation centers she'd be placed in between this series of hospital stays. But these homes were a nightmare!

There were times we would walk in on our mother unconscious and were told she would just be sleeping, urine canister mixed with blood, bed sores, and septic shock multiple times. One home, in particular, was against us calling 911 for her to be transferred out. We would be in there fighting to get her out of there! We were told to change her code status, witnessing bag resuscitation, and watching painful procedures being done with no pain medication.

The Fight

After traveling through the whole Chicagoland area visiting all these different facilities trying to see her, we got her transferred back to Northwestern in January 2023. Due to underlying conditions, she faced air pockets, severe infections, more surgeries, procedures, and scopes that just took a toll on all of us. We showered her with spa days, movie nights, food, decorations, and gifts to fill her spirit with love to promote healing, and it worked! After an 11-month hospital stay, she FINALLY saw home again in July 2023, and we threw the biggest party. We couldn’t believe how amazing she looked after everything she had been through. During this home time, she had to go to dialysis 3x a week, pulmonary therapy, and doctor appointments while battling a chronic illness worsening by the month. But the way she carried herself and her efforts to a normal everyday life—cooking, doing her hair/makeup, getting herself dressed, things as little as brushing her teeth—brought our youngest sister (22 years old) so much comfort, just knowing she'd continue to have a mom that would be home with her for so much more time to come.

A Turn for the Worst

NW Transplant team was outstanding with the work her kids had done to build her up to this point of victory that they had no choice but to tell her yes! I mean, she was walking on her own with lungs smaller than the size of a fist. She was reinstated on the list in May 2024. We were thrilled they were giving her a chance at a longer, healthier life. After an anticipated phone call for her transplant, she was blessed with a double lung and kidney donor. The surgery went well. However, unexpected complications arose not too long after she was released from the hospital near the end of June 2024.

A screw from the metal plate placed to hold her chest together after the surgery had come loose. The hospital explained they would have to go back in and rescrew it, and this would be another major surgery. Unfortunately, the healing process was too much, and her health started declining rapidly. A strong infection came in her chest twice, the second one being the cause of her passing. Her body became septic, and organs began to fail. We were devastated; we lost the fight, including her own doctors.

How Can You Help?

We are heartbroken and now ask for your support during this challenging time. We are raising funds for Lolita’s funeral costs and to help her children cope with this loss. Any contributions will help us honor her vibrant spirit and ensure she receives the beautiful farewell she deserves.

We appreciate all forms of support—gift cards, flowers, candles, self-care items, or any gestures of kindness. Inclusive of further bookings with Brianna's Mobile Bartending Business “Boozin’ With Bri”—Lolita inspired the name and was always encouraging of her baby girl's success. These gestures will help alleviate some financial burdens and guide us through this grief.

Thank you for honoring Lolita’s legacy with us. Your kindness means the world!