Darren’s Fight

I am creating this go fund me in hopes of helping my sister and her family through the unimaginable..

Just A few weeks ago they were just like any other loving family..

that is… Until Covid struck,

My brother in law contracted Covid and while the rest of the family recovered he did not,

Christmas Eve (which is also their wedding anniversary) Darren went to the hospital expecting to be given the monoclonal antibodies and return home to spend his anniversary and Christmas with his wife and three young kids,

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

His oxygen was too low to receive the antibodies and he was admitted to Elk City hospital,

Expecting this to be a night or two in the hospital my sister (His wife) immediately rushed to his side,

You see my sister and him are inseparable,

and have been from day one..

They met while working together at Walmart more than a decade ago and from there they were rarely ever seen apart..

It is one of those loves where you could only hope to find someone who completes you in the way they complete each other,

After starting their family my sister quit her job to become a stay at home wife and mom,

they went on to have three beautiful babies who are now 9, 7, and 18 months.

So Darren’s income become the only income they received,

He was the backbone and provider of the little family they created,

That is until Covid happened,

at only 41 years old you would expect to get Covid and recover within a week or so,

Oh how this was anything but..

After continuing to battle with oxygen Darren suffered blood clots in his lungs,

which ended up leading to an embolism,

right in front of my sister her biggest nightmare came true,

Darren coded,

Doctors and nurses rushed to his side and all she could do was watch in total shock and horror as they worked frantically to intubate and bring him back to her,

From there it has been one roller coaster after another but through it all Darren has held on and fought so very hard to hang on..

Over the next few days My sister was told there was pretty much nothing they could do for him, she watched as other patients succumbed to this deadly virus right before her eyes knowing her husband was soon to follow if not for a miracle,

and miracle it was to be..

My sister desperately tried to get Darren transferred to a hospital that had more resources than what Elk City hospital could provide, she was told there was no chance as the hospitals were at full capacity..

All she could do was wait…

And Pray

This is where I feel God stepped in and she received a call from a hospital in San Antonio Texas willing to help flight him to their hospital and try their best to give him every chance

Darren is currently in a critical care hospital in San Antonio Texas fighting the fight of his life,

we are still unsure of what the future holds but if anything has been shown through all of this it is God is still in control,

So many times my sister has been told this is it,

nothing else can be done..

To that all I can say is…

BUT GOD!!

This is where we are so humbly and graciously asking for help,

because their income was already so limited it left nothing for savings and no one could have expected this outcome,

Darren is only 41 years old with a wife, 3 small kids and SO MUCH MORE life left to live..

Every time my sister leaves his side his blood pressure shoots through the roof which is putting him at great risk,

She is his only comfort through this nightmare he is having to endure,

We are asking for help to get my sister to and from Texas, plane tickets, as well as for hotels and other expenses that are being incurred, on top of daily living expenses, rent, electric, car payments and everything it is just too much with their only income now being gone,

We truly don’t know when or even IF Darren will ever be well enough to return to work, but we do know he is looking at months of rehab at the very least and nobody knows what will happen after that.

He is going to need a 24 hour caregiver which will make it impossible for my sister to leave him to be able to get a job,

He will come home on oxygen in a wheelchair due to being bed ridden for now over a month and all of his body mass being lost,

not to mention the Doctors continue to caution my sister if he even catches a cold these next few months that will set him right back to where he is,

so daycare and over exposure is not an option for their three kids,

they will be doing virtual learning for what we suspect will be the end of this school year,

Financially there is just no way they can make it through this without help,

All of their credit cards are maxed out already just with everything that’s happened so far,

My mom has been doing everything she can and more both financially and physically through this but it has taken its toll and she cannot afford to financially keep them afloat much longer.

I know Darren would be devastated if he knew the struggle his wife is having to endure,

But nothing would compare to loosing him,

he is her everything..

Right now this all just seems impossible to navigate,

once again I find myself saying

BUT GOD!!

If you feel led to help whether it be by shares, prayer or Donations please know,

we so humbly thank you,

Every dollar counts and of course every prayer is priceless,

These next few days will reveal a lot about what’s to come as they slowly wean Darren off the sedation and allow him to wake up,

We are all praying so much for his peace and comfort as he comes back to us,

He’s been fully sedated and on paralytics for weeks now..

I can not even imagine how terrifying this must be for him..

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this,

please pray for his healing and peace as well as for comfort for my sister and also their three sweet babies, as for the first time in their lives they are separated from their mom and dad

The following are updates my mom has posted to Facebook Over the last few weeks..

UPDATE 2.01.2022 Things have gone up and down, from hope to no hope. BUT, Today, The doctor says he is cautiously optimistic. He was just put on Darren's case yesterday. They are in the process of trying to wake him up once again so please keep praying that this is successful. Amy has been in Texas now for a week. The 3 little ones are here and keeping me on my toes. I just want this little family reunited once again the way it should be and for this nightmare to be over with. Thank you so much for the prayers. We are in Shock and disbelieve. No one will take him for ECMO. They said he is to high risk. They want Amy to give permission for them to disconnect life support. Anyone know what we can do, What are we missing!!!!!!Update, 1.27.2022, Today we need urgent prayers that the test for fungus in the lungs comes back clear. One set back after another is taking it's toll on his body. Now they are saying his only chance is with ECMO, Okay, This test must come back negitive for Fungus or he can not be put on ECMO. Please pray, He's been through so much. UPDATE!! 1.25.2022!!! 11:00am, Darren has opened his eyes!!!!! Not following commandsand just looking around the room. But the nurse said she thinks he's just scared. PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACE> Pray he is able to come back mentally OMG!!! just keep thanking God for us!!! This is a MIRACLE!!!

Update 1.24.2022 at 6:00pm. I've been so slow to update because things seem to be going round and round in circles. This stand still has been very hard to deal with. Amy lives every second waiting to hear from the hospital, It's hard to watch. I know she can't picture life without Darren and I am praying that she does not have to. After 5 days of scares or remaining the same the doctor told Amy tonight, He is not out of the woods by a long shot but he said I am hopeful that he is going to come out of this. Today we found out A good friend of Darren's that Darren works with also had Covid and he didn't make it. When I heard that I felt everything on the inside just break. I cried For his family, I cried for his good friend Darren. I cried because a young 27 year old is gone. Gone because of a very vicious Virus that is stealing the joy from so many. Sorry, i am trying to stay on track here. So they put Darren on several different medications. A new sedation and three new Antibiotics. We are praying he starts waking up soon. UPDATE 1.19.2022 at 5:30pm. The surgen just called Amy and said it went perfectly!!! Thank YOU Father in Heaven. Now we need him to wake up. Please pray his heart stays strong and he can wake up without any other issues. Thank you all so much for all your prayers! UPDATE 1.19.2022 They just called to get consent from Amy to do a Tracheotomy, They are getting prepared for it right now. Prayers please that it all goes well. UPDATE 1.17.2022. They found it, They found the infection. Yes it is a serious one. But they put him on a serious antibiotic too. So wow, They are now looking at the near future again. The docotor said, We are now working to get his oxygen dowon to 50 so that they can wean him off the sedation!!!!! OMG!!!! I am crying such happy tears. Once they get his oxygen down to 50 they will put in a tracheostomy. This will help them to manage things better and get him to wake up. I know these steps may seem so small to some. But Amy watched him have a pulmonary enbolism and he was brought back to life. To us these are huge steps in the scope of things. Please keep praying and believeing with us. We love him and we want him back home with his 3 little kids that miss him so much. Thank you for praying with us! UPDATE 1.16.2022 10:45am, The doctor has called to day and spoken with Amy. They had been worried about a colon issue but it is now resolved. Because of that there was a delay in trying to clean his lungs. On That I just pray for God's will to be done. There are definite risks involved. The doctor said infection markers are higher again, But a specialist is now working with that to see what why and where it is. The sedditive and Oxygen levels have been turned down again and he is handlling it. {Oxygen has been turned down to 70} Please keep praying. UPDATE: 1.14.2022, Darren has had a rough 3 days. The doctor wants to try something tomorrow. He wants to go in and wash out Darren's lungs. This sounds very risky but there is no other way. We are asking for prayers for both Darren and the doctor tomorrow. Please pray that the doctor gets all the mucous off and out of his lungs. Pray that God uses this doctor and gives him the wisdom he needs to get Darren back home to his family that misses him so desperately. Thank you all so much for the love and prayers. 1.11.2022 10:40am, Amy just arrived at the hospital Lord please help her get through this. Please continue to pray for Darren. 1..09.2022 at 12:11pm, My last post was devastating news, Well unless you believe in the power of prayer. I want to start this by sayiing, The doctor is leaving for a one month vacation. She said she expects Darren to be in a rehab facility at that point. Did you hear that!!!!? A Rehab facility!!!! He had a Pulmonary embolism right in front of Amy just a few days ago. We all know how deadly that is. They resuscitated him so it was a bad one. BUT!!! But they just said it has been completely resolved. The blood clots are resolved as well from what they can see. The best news of all, Is blood saturation levels are up was well That low number he had before was destine to lead to limb loss, But it is up, My God it's up!!! He is being put on a new drug today, Baricitinib, Pray this one does what they are hoping it will do Now there is some other issues that we need very specific prayers for. They try to turn down the sedation drug and hs body goes into a panic. This means they can not start the process of turning it down at all. Please pray God calms his body and fixes this issue. They are saying they are getting ready to do a tracheotomy. The doctor said he may never overcome it as well as the feeding tube. We won't except this, as Darren loves to eat. But one step at a time. Today because of our Merciful Father in Heaven and your prayyers we have HOPE!!! Where their is Life and where there is Prayer there is HOPE!!! Please continue with me as he is so very far from out of the woods. But my gosh, They never thought they would be giving these results to Amy today either. Just yesterday they said, There is nothing more theyy can do, t's inn God's hands now. Please also remember to pray for Amy as she will be leving soon to fly to Texas to see him. Praise you Father in Heaven for all you are doing. In Jesus name! 1;00pm 1.8..2022 They are woking hard to get the carbon monoxide out of his body by changing settings on the ventilator.. The nurse says this takes 24 hours to see if they are getting it right. What part of that conversation was hopeful? The nurse said, (We hope we have him sedated enough that he won't remember this.} What? Was that a, I think he will wake up from this? Yes we are holding on to every word.. I would like to ask everyone to pray for Darren's Comfort through this. We love him and we do not want him to suffer so please pray God is controlling that pain for him. In Church tomorrow may I ask that everyone who reads this and is following Darren's Journey ask your pastor to please pray and hold him up before God for complete healing. To comfort him whlie he endures this horriiblle nightmare. Where two or more come together in agreement he is the the Midst of them. I have believed this all my life. Thank you, Each and everyone of you that are praying, THANK YOU. At about 1:30pm 1.07..2022 Amy received a call from the doctor.. Darren's white blood cells are very high There's more inflammation and it will take a Miracle. They said it willl take a Miracle to save him. We are praying for just that. Amy Loves Darren with everything she is and I know Darren loves Amy. Pray with me their Journey is NOT over.. That his baby is not standing at that door waiting for her daddy that will never return. The Chaplin just said to PRAY FOR A MIRACLE! Update, 1.07.2022 at 10:51am Darren had a rough night. Please remember him today in your prayers. His potassiom was high and heart rate low. They have given him medications for it But we need prayers for guidance that his doctors and nurses make the right decisions as the hours go by. 1.06.2022, There's not much to update. Darren's oxygen shows on the monitor to be 100. But that is not his blood saturation number. They are saying that number is way to low and they are working hard to get to up. The blood saturation number is the one that counts. It must come up. They are trying and we are praying. They moved his sterile port out of his neck and into his chest. Please don't stop praying. This number MUST come up soon. ARDS is so deadly He is so critical and God is so Powerful. 1.06.2022, last night at about 1;00am Darren's new doctor called Amy. Told her Darren was being flown in by plane and he was waiting for him. He cautioned Amy, He is so very very sick. Just so very sick.. But he wants to give him every chance possible. He would be changing his medications and do everything possible for him. He saiid the treatments were risky but doing nothing is fatal for sure. Darren arrived at about 3 in the morning. He is in the best hands possible, Our Father in heaven's hands. Dear God, Please guide this doctor and his staff.. We praise you dear God for showing us your hand. Amy was told there was no way this would happen, It would not be possible. Way to many are ahead of him wanting for transfers in the State. WE Trust in You Dear God. PLEASE PRAY WITH US NOW!!! I have no words, I did accidentally delete the post about Darren. Dang it, But I was in such a hurry to ask you all for prayers. The news has been so grim. BUT new hope is arriving. Meda Flight is on the way. Thank you Great Plains Hospital in Elk City for making this happen. He is being transferred to a critical care hospital in San Antonio Texas. He's been slipping away all day. I can't see through the tears. PLEASE pray for the Pilot that will be transporting him, Pray for the doctors that are waiting for his arrival. PLEASE PRAY!!! God Bless the Doctors and Nurses of Great Plains Hospital, Thank you for keeping him alive this long!!!!