Alberto Palafox’s ICU Air Ambulance Transfer

Update:

My dad was successfully transferred via air ambulance back to California from Tepic, Nayarit on Sept 28th. He is still in ICU and after many tests it has been discovered that unfortunately he was misdiagnosed since he first fell ill back in August. He actually had coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever, which is known to go undiagnosed and if untreated can be dangerous. Because of it going untreated for so long, it has severely damaged his lungs. Since he was in a medically induced coma for 30 days, the lasting effects are still unknown. He is no longer sedated, still on ventilator, but he is awake, somewhat alert and receiving the proper medication. He is now able to move his fingers and slightly nod, make facial expressions, and tries to talk but can’t yet due to the tracheotomy. We are beyond happy to have him back and while we hope and pray he is back to normal, we know that the road to recovery will be challenging because the severity of the illness and the long term effects from his entire ordeal is still to be seen. We are learning something every day. We appreciate your support and hope for the best possible outcome.

Last month while my parents were visiting family in Mexico, my dad, Alberto Palafox, fell ill and was rushed to the ER. On August 31st he was intubated and place in a medically induced coma. They found a rare bacteria that caused his lungs to pretty much shut down. He has had many tests and procedures done and they have tried to wake him up, but unfortunately that has not been successful. On Sept 20th they decided that being intubated for 21 days was no longer safe and the last resort was to perform a tracheotomy and gastrostomy. The doctor and surgeons have said that they have done all they can and that there’s hope because my dad has been stable and his other organs are fine. The doctor suggested transferring him back to the USA since there are specialists and more options here. Because of that, we have decided to bring him back to California via an Air Ambulance (private plane with all the ICU equipment and medical staff).

Unfortunately, my dad’s insurance does not cover international transportation which can be $35-50K, nor are they covering all the medical expenses up front. The hospital bills have to be paid every couple days and once back home my mom can submit all the paperwork and receipts and hope for 100% reimbursement. In the meantime she has had to use their savings, borrow money and use credit cards (thankful that we are able to do that). But now we are hoping to raise funds to offset the medical, travel costs and help bring my dad back to California so he can receive specialized medical care.

For those of you who know my dad, you know he is always willing to help anyone out and he never likes to ask for help, but because he can’t right now, we are humbly asking for him.

This has been the most difficult time our family has endured and although my dad is still in critical condition, we are still praying and hoping for a miracle, and we believe he will pull through.

The prayers, support, and help we have received from family and friends has been truly touching and very much appreciated. Words can’t express the gratitude we feel right now. Thank you for helping our family.