Let's help Marilyn St.John!

From Marilyn's family:

Early February, our mom suddenly collapsed at her aikido dojo after teaching another great class. An angel who was attending class for their very first time, and the only student still there, was suddenly faced with the scary task of calling 911. She was rushed to the hospital where they discovered she needed emergency life saving open heart surgery for an aortic dissection. A rare condition, that in mom’s case, is idiopathic. If it had been 5 minutes later, mom would have been alone, and she would not be here with us today. After a very lengthy surgery, Marilyn’s gathered family, close friends and members of her aikido family in the ICU waiting room were told she still might not make it, and if she did, might not be the same... but when she finally woke up it started to become obvious she was the same ol’ mom! The surgeons, doctors and nurses made it very clear to us over our weeks at the hospital that it was a HUGE save and a miracle she even made it to the hospital in time, survived the surgery and was doing as well as she was. They all loved to tell new staff who hadn’t seen her yet how she’s a martial arts instructor who can kick their butt and is clearly one of the healthiest 70 year olds they’ve seen, likely attributing that to her survival.

Marilyn is a beloved and integral part of the Woodstock community. A career martial artist, her Karate School served this area and greatly impacted the lives of countless people, mostly children, for decades. She also spent the last 32 years deeply dedicated to her passion of aikido, and to Woodstock Aikido and her sensei Harvey Konigsberg. Anyone who knows her knows that she is a remarkable woman, full of compassion, positivity, strength, wisdom, and an unwavering commitment to helping and caring for others. She has spent her whole life giving of herself to others…to her children and grandchildren, her family, friends and to the many communities she is part of. She understands that now is a time where she can let others give of themselves to her, so we NEED your help!

We concluded a gofundme would be necessary for mom’s recovery. Once home from the hospital she has needed 24/7 care, as continues with no clear end. All of this is slowly and steadily progressing as she gets stronger and can do a little more as her physical restrictions will get lifted over time. Her children’s lives were put on hold, unable to keep up their own work lives, losing funds and exhausted managing all of her care while also covering most physical hours for her. To assure her safety and best recovery meant paying privately for night nurses/aides to care for her the majority of nights and lean on friends and family to piece together coverage for some waking hours to relieve her children. The costs associated with providing her proper care are unrelenting and we do not know for how long what level of care will be needed. Overnight home care cost by itself is exorbitant. Programs like Medicaid take a long time to muddle thru the red tape and to get to any actual use of the benefits, though we have hope it can provide some help soon.

The funds raised for Marilyn will be covering the cost of home aides, supplies, medical equipment/furniture, groceries, gas for many continual far away medical appointments, recovery therapies not covered by insurance, etc. As well, it is yet unknown what work she will be able to resume and when. In any scenario there will be a significant loss of income. Mick Breitenstein, the organizer, is a dear family friend for over 40 years. We have full access to the bank account that will hold the funds which will be used for the aforementioned expenses.

Nan (as she is known to her grandkids) means everything in the world to us. We could not be more grateful we did not lose her. Marilyn's many communities near and far have been asking how they can help... She is rich in family, health and happiness, but does not have the means for an unexpected, costly crisis like this. She needs all of our help to offset the unexpected and growing financial burden. We are grateful for any contribution, and every amount makes a difference in helping Marilyn get back to doing what she does best- endlessly caring for others and contributing positively to this chaotic world.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your prayers and well wishes. We also want to deeply thank the Woodstock Rescue Squad, Northern Dutchess ER staff and Vassar CT Surgery Team and staff.

Humbly and thankfully,

Marilyn’s loving family