Help Charlene's family

Hello,

I imagine most people reading this story know me but, in any case, my name is Cassandra and I am Charlene's daughter in law. I am setting up a gofundme page to help with the financial burden that has been thrusted upon us over the last few months.

May 15th is when everything started.

Char was having hot flashes over the weekend and started to become dizzy while having them. Then on May 15th she fell. She left the house to get her medicine and when she got home, as she was climbing out of the car, she fell. She lost consciousness for some period of time and was found by the neighbors children next to the car. She was then brought to the hospital where we found out she was in an adrenal crisis. Char's sodium levels had dropped significantly.

After several days in the hospital it was determined that it was a supplement that interacted badly with her Addison's disease. She had 2 breaks in her sacrum and was in so much pain she could not move. The hospital wouldn't keep her any longer and it was decided that home wasn't safe enough for her at that time. She was sent to Whitefish Rehab for the skilled nursing that they could provide.

Unfortunately, while she was there she suffered neglect. It didn't come off that way at first, they seemed kind and they were working with her. But, as it turns out she was left on her back 24/7 and with Char's body being as thin as it is she developed a bed sore that became an open wound all the way down to her bone.

Whitefish rehab decided that it "may need looked at, just in case." So she was sent back to the hospital. After she arrived they took her to surgery to clean out her wound and do a bone biopsy to see if there was a bone infection. While she was at the hospital, which was north valley, they decided to send her over to kalispell logan health.

She was admitted into Kalispell and while running their own tests they found out that she had more breaks than just her sacrum. She had the 2 fractures in her sacrum -one on the left, one on the right- a break in her pelvis, and 2 fractures in 2 of her lower vertebraes of her spine.

She was started on antibiotics for the bone infection immediately and kept off her wound.

After a few weeks of healing she was admitted to in-patient rehab. Char began to progress quickly. Walking, using a bedside commode, then a real bathroom again.

Finally, on July 5th - her birthday, she was ready to come home. Keegan took FMLA unpaid leave from work to care for her.

Keegan has been doing her in home antibiotic IV therapy, wound care, cooking, cleaning, and taking her to all her appointments. She had seemed to be on the up and up. Enough that we took her to Great Falls to see the comedian Gabriel Iglesias. Char had the time of her life. And that was just last week.

Now. to our current troubles. Tuesday afternoon I was let go from my job because of the time I needed to miss for our medical needs. So, that evening Keegan and I had some friends over to play some board games. Char looked a little off, she said she was having a hot flash but wasn't dizzy or anything else. We asked if she was ok, and she said yes. Not 10 minutes later she let out a yell and starting convulsing and drooling. Keegan held her up so she didn't fall out of her chair. I called 911 and sat with them trying to wake her after she seized. She woke up for a little bit before they took her but wasn't making a lot of sense.

The ambulance took her to north valley where they ran a battery of tests; urine, blood, CAT scan, etc. Everything looked good and was normal. She was doing much better, speaking in full sentences, and asking about what happened. The hospital decided there was no reason to hold her and that she could go home with instructions to follow up with a neurologist ASAP.

Yesterday we were all tired. Keegan took Char to two appointments at the wound care center where they said her bed sore was almost fully healed and no longer needs to be packed with gauze. Then they decided she could get off her daily antibiotics IV therapy Thursday afternoon and have her PICC line removed. It was a big day with good news. We all said that after lunch was a good time to take a nap. Keegan and I went to lay down and Char said she would be soon as well.

An hour or so later Keegan and I woke up and went to check on Char. We found her on the bathroom floor. She was unconscious and half dressed. Keegan helped redress her and we were able to pull her up on her bed. She was awake but could only make little grunts at first. After 10 minutes she was using single words, the 20 minutes she was speaking in sentences. She wasn't talking much, shivering but spoke with us some. She wasn't hungry but said she felt ok. The three of us spoke and decided that she didn't need to go back to the hospital just yet.

Keegan decided to run to the grocery store while I stayed in the bedroom with Char. She looked like she was going to fall asleep. I tried talking with her for a bit but she didn't really want to. So we sat there in silence. After a few minutes I thought she was turning her head to look at me but she went into another seizure. I called 911 and got an ambulance on its way. Then immediately called Keegan to get home.

The ambulance came and she was still out of it. They rushed her in as quick as they could and Keegan and I followed.

We had to wait in the ER waiting room at North Valley for what felt like forever. Then he and I were brought into the triage room to speak with her doctor. They said she had 2 more seizures after she arrived and they had to induce a coma to stop them. Her oxygen also dropped to 60 so they intibated her. They decided that she needed to see a neurologist immediately and that it could not wait. Kalispell Logan health was fill so she was sent to Missoula by the life alert helicopter within an hour.

Keegan and I are on our way down so we can be there for any medical decisions or when she wakes up. We will be staying in a hotel and will try to keep this post updated. If anyone has more immediate need of contacting us please call me or use Facebook messenger.

Being that Keegan and I are not working, Charlene has no income, and the only money left avaliable to us is what is remaining of her late husband's life insurance we are asking for help. Any money raised will go towards medical bills, hotel costs, food costs, gas, and anything else Charlene, Keegan, or I need. Please pray for a speedy recovery and everything helps!