Support Katherine’s Recovery

September 18, 2022

Katherine’s life drastically changed forever, two days after her 26th birthday when she was discovered unresponsive in her apartment. Nobody had heard from Kat in over 12 hours so her sister, who was in Bahrain at the time, asked one of Kat’s friends to go check on her. Upon arrival of emergency services, Kat’s blood glucose level was so low, it was undetectable on a field test. She was taken immediately to Johns Hopkins Hospital and upon admissions, Kat’s family quickly learned how serious her injuries were. She had severe brain swelling requiring a drain to be put in to try to release excess fluid, was put on a ventilator and there was damage to several other organs, as Kat’s body was beginning to shut down.

After several hours in life threatening condition in the ER, Kat was moved to the Neuro Critical Care Unit in very critical condition. She remained the most critical patient in all of Johns Hopkins Hospital for several days.

That first 48 hours in the NCCU were a blur. Kat’s doctors and nurses worked diligently to try to stabilize all of her vitals, blood counts and electrolytes. During this time, Kat’s heart struggled to function properly sending her into cardiac arrest on four different occasions.

After about two weeks of continual medical attention, Kat’s body began to stabilize. At this point, scans determined that she had no long-term implications to her heart or liver; however, her brain waves continued at a slower rate, keeping her in a coma-like state.

Katherine’s medical team decided it was time to remove her from the ventilator as she was able to do majority of the breathing on her own at this point. This ended up causing one of her lungs to collapse but she has since recovered completely from that and has had no issues breathing on her own.

During Kat’s three weeks in the NCCU, she received multiple brain scans and monitoring evaluations. The swelling in Kat’s brain had continued to go down and her MRI indicate that there was not permanent structural damage to her brain. This has left doctors questioning why she was not more alert at the time and best advice to family was to be patient and give her time.

Fast-Forward to Now, October 24, 2022

Kat is making slow progress every day. She is now in a minimally conscious state in which she can follow very simple commands from the doctors. She has begun engaging with family and friends through laughing, smiling and crying. She recently started whispering to family and doctors in response to questions asked.

In the hospital Kat is receiving Physical, Occupation and Speech Therapy which are showing to be making a huge impact on her recovery.

Next Steps

Kat has been medically accepted to Moss Rehabilitation outside Philadelphia. Pending insurance, Kat will be transported to Moss, as soon as mid-week. While at Moss, Kat will receive therapies through the Minimally Conscious Program as they specialize in stimulating alertness and providing the first step in her long rehabilitation process. One integral part of this program is family involvement so Kat’s father, Steve, will be temporarily relocating to be with her throughout the four-week rehabilitation program.

During this program we are praying and will continue to ask for your prayers and positive thoughts that she is able to progress through the minimally conscious stage and fully emerge. This would allow Kat to better and more regularly follow commands. At that point, Kat would be ready for the next step rehabilitation facility.

If Kat does not emerge during this program, Kat will receive in-home care until she is better able to participate in active recovery.

In Summary

The road is long for Kat’s recovery and for her family. She is a loved daughter, sister, sister-in-law, niece, friend and Auntie to many that want every day to have her back.

The family wants to ensure Kat receives the best medical care and is anticipating devastating out-of-pocket expenses in the months ahead. They are asking for help from anyone that can provide it and greatly appreciate the generosity of many of you already.

We will continue to update all as we receive word on the next steps for Kat’s recovery.

Love,

The Morin Family