Honor Michele’s Memory and Help Our Dad Rebuild

Our “momma,” Michele Salamanikas, was the closest you could get to a real-life angel. She would help anyone in need and never asked or expected anything in return. She would say that watching her “grandbabies” was a privilege and would never allow us to pay her back in any way. 

 

About a month ago, on Jan. 11th, Michele endured surgery to remove a mass from her lungs. The surgery went better than any of us expected, doctors included, and she was able to go home within a few days. 

 

Her recovery was going surprisingly well, and she seemed to be on her way to cancer free with a renewed hope for life. All that hope drastically came to a halt when on the morning of Jan 31st, she had trouble breathing and collapsed. Our dad, Butch, performed CPR to revive her pulse while waiting for First Responders. She was transported to the hospital where she lost her pulse again on the drive. Doctors were eventually able to stabilize her, but she was immediately placed on a ventilator. If that weren’t enough, she had to be transferred by ambulance again due to a lack of ICU beds. It was at Intermountain Medical Center where she was given multiple tests including x-rays, scans, multiple blood draws a day, as well as antibiotics after contracting hospital pneumonia and MRSA. On the 4th day of her hospitalization, she underwent an MRI scan because she was exhibiting numerous sigs of brain damage. The results showed her brain had significant swelling to the point where it was pressing onto her brain stem. The doctors informed us that her diagnosis was terminal and that she had limited brain activity. The evening of February 3rd, the doctors told us that they did not think she would make it through the night. Meanwhile, our dad has been unable to work in order to stay by our momma’s side throughout this terrible ordeal. 

 

Our mom always said that if she could not watch or play with her grandbabies, it would be no way to live. Due to her deteriorating state and lack of brain activity, we decided as a family to remove her from life support. On Monday, February 5, 2024, with three of her daughters by her side, she took her final breath while we all held our hands on her heart to feel her last heartbeat. Our family has been absolutely devastated by her sudden loss. On top of navigating bills without the addition of our mom’s income, our dad now has a mountain of medical bills and funeral expenses to pay. If you know our dad, you know he would never ask for a thing, much like Michele in her lifetime. The truth is that he is going to need help. Our goal is to raise enough money, so he doesn’t even need to ask. Please, if you find it in your heart to donate in honor of our amazing momma, it would be greatly appreciated.