My mom needs help to be transferred Home

On Oct. 23, 2022, my mother, Ramona, was critically injured in a horrible car accident. Mom, my sister Amanda, and I (Athena) were hit by an oncoming vehicle at 60 miles per hour on a country road in Pekin, Illinois. Amanda and I are going to be okay. My mom, however, has gone through severe trauma and has been in the ICU at St. Francis in nearby Peoria unconscious for over five weeks now.

The night of the accident, Mom insisted I sit in the front passenger seat instead of the back. Almost as if she unconsciously made a motherly sacrifice for me, she bore the brunt of the crash. Mom was protecting us as she always does.

Amanda was driving her Honda Fit. She and Mom had come to visit me in central Illinois.

Our car had come to a stop at a T-intersection. In the dark, we underestimated the speed and closeness of an oncoming car from the left. It was a split-second mistake that has changed our lives forever. As our car pulled onto the highway, the approaching car struck our back driver’s side door and axle, putting our car into a spin. We landed in a ditch facing downward on the opposite side of the road.

I immediately checked on Amanda and Mom. Amanda was conscious but unable to move. Mom was lying twisted in her seat belt in the back unconscious. I held my mom as she struggled to breathe while we waited for the ambulance. Her lungs filled with blood, and she began to make intense groaning noises. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she passed out. Those in the other car, thank goodness, suffered no permanent injuries.

Mom is currently recovering in the ICU with many severe injuries, and multiple lesser injuries. Whiplash caused her neck to snap leading to bleeding in her brain and lungs and broke two vertebrae. Mom has had swelling in her brain and damage in the part of her brain that controls motor skills. So far, neurologists are unsure whether she will be able to regain the ability to move or do things on her own. However, through the care of the doctors, nurses, and God's grace, she has been showing small signs of progress. Every single day she is fighting to regain consciousness and be able to move.

It has been devastating to see one of the kindest women you’d ever meet go through such a traumatic event. I feel like the Lord has been working miracles with my mom on her long journey back to health.

Mom always has put the needs of others before her own. She has been such an inspiration to us, always highlighting the importance of having a healthy brain — from making sure she takes her vitamins to challenging her mind by speaking two languages, playing the piano, and getting her master's degree in Data Science during the Pandemic. Despite being the sweetest, most gentle person, she is also a fighter within. She gives us hope that she will recover.

Her kindness is contagious, and I pray that the love she has given so selflessly to others throughout her life might now be paid back during her time of need. And we ask, now, for help. Once she is stable enough, she will be taken to a Skilled Nursing Facility. Not many nursing homes take care of patients with ventilators, and so as a family we have decided it is best she stays in one near her native New York. This is where her father and brothers and extended family live. It will not be easy for someone on a ventilator to travel from Peoria to New York. It will be a big move for her and an expensive one at that. Angel MedFlight is the service my mom will be using. All money donated will go toward paying for her flight, medical fees, and for her overall health!

Mom, you are so amazing in so many ways. Jesus has heard and is answering all of the prayers for your recovery. I am so deeply thankful for the number of prayers, love, and support she has received. God works miracles every day. Every small step in the right direction is to be celebrated and thanked. Thank you, Jesus, for taking us this far. Please, Lord, continue Your work with Mom and allow her to continue to get the medical and financial needs met during this very long road to recovery.