Keep the Coates Covered
Donation protected
Who ever thought a spur of the moment Mother’s Day trip would change their lives indefinitely?
Curtis, Julia and Matthew Coates flew down to Ecuador on May 3rd as a surprise for Julia and her mom for Mother’s Day. On May 10th, Curtis became ill with salmonellosis, a resulting illness from salmonella. Unfortunately, a local doctor incorrectly diagnosed this as the chikunguya virus. This misdiagnosis resulted not only in Curtis’s intestine not being treated, but in multiple micro-perforations forming in his lower intestine.
After enduring this pain for a couple days, Curtis was rushed several hours away from the small coastal town of their family to the closest major hospital in the mountains of Quito where was immediately operated on. After the surgery, Curtis remained in intensive care for a few days, as his blood type is at high risk of clotting. Another concern was that the transplanted kidney that saved his life a few years ago might not be able to withstand the stress from the surgery, stomach infection and risk of blood clots.
In the two weeks following this surgery, Curtis’s stomach continued to be punctured and infected. Doctors in Quito tried several different antibiotics to control the infection, but nothing seemed capable of defeating it. On May 24th, Julia started the very costly (over $30k) and time-consuming process of transferring Curtis to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami via Air Ambulance. Curtis arrived at Jackson hospital in the wee hours of the morning on May 26th and had three more surgeries in the next three days. On May 29th, Curtis’s stomach was finally sealed, although there were still traces of the infection in his blood stream. His transplanted kidney has shown strength in function after all these surgeries, but his blood is still at risk of clotting and cannot stay at the right consistency without taking anticoagulants.
On June 3rd, surgeons told Julia that Curtis will be unable to take a commercial flight home for at least four more weeks. As of June 9th, Curtis continues in intensive care and clotting is still a major concern. Julia considered taking Matthew home to Seattle to finish his school year (he is in third grade), but they do not want to leave Curtis alone in the hospital for such a long period of time and this is a time when family really needs to stay together.
Julia and Curtis have now spent at least five weeks without working and the bills are piling up—while Julia and Matthew are staying with family, they still need to eat and stay in communication with Curtis’s mother and brother on the west coast, as well as continue to update family in Ecuador. Also, even though they are not physically in their house, they still have mortgage, electric and phone bills to pay on their home.
I have known the Coates family personally for well over a decade and they are the kindest, most thoughtful people I know. Over the years, I have seen them open their home many times to family members making major transitions, open their pocketbook to help others in need, love each other unconditionally, and treat my children as their own. While they would be the first to help another family going through such a rough spiritual and financial time as they are currently enduring, they would never ask for such help. Luckily, I have no problem asking for help for them ;) Please consider donating what you can to help them keep their home, pay temporary living expenses in Miami while Curtis remains hospitalized, and begin to tackle the mounting medical bills. Prayers are also welcome.
Thank you and God Bless.
Curtis, Julia and Matthew Coates flew down to Ecuador on May 3rd as a surprise for Julia and her mom for Mother’s Day. On May 10th, Curtis became ill with salmonellosis, a resulting illness from salmonella. Unfortunately, a local doctor incorrectly diagnosed this as the chikunguya virus. This misdiagnosis resulted not only in Curtis’s intestine not being treated, but in multiple micro-perforations forming in his lower intestine.
After enduring this pain for a couple days, Curtis was rushed several hours away from the small coastal town of their family to the closest major hospital in the mountains of Quito where was immediately operated on. After the surgery, Curtis remained in intensive care for a few days, as his blood type is at high risk of clotting. Another concern was that the transplanted kidney that saved his life a few years ago might not be able to withstand the stress from the surgery, stomach infection and risk of blood clots.
In the two weeks following this surgery, Curtis’s stomach continued to be punctured and infected. Doctors in Quito tried several different antibiotics to control the infection, but nothing seemed capable of defeating it. On May 24th, Julia started the very costly (over $30k) and time-consuming process of transferring Curtis to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami via Air Ambulance. Curtis arrived at Jackson hospital in the wee hours of the morning on May 26th and had three more surgeries in the next three days. On May 29th, Curtis’s stomach was finally sealed, although there were still traces of the infection in his blood stream. His transplanted kidney has shown strength in function after all these surgeries, but his blood is still at risk of clotting and cannot stay at the right consistency without taking anticoagulants.
On June 3rd, surgeons told Julia that Curtis will be unable to take a commercial flight home for at least four more weeks. As of June 9th, Curtis continues in intensive care and clotting is still a major concern. Julia considered taking Matthew home to Seattle to finish his school year (he is in third grade), but they do not want to leave Curtis alone in the hospital for such a long period of time and this is a time when family really needs to stay together.
Julia and Curtis have now spent at least five weeks without working and the bills are piling up—while Julia and Matthew are staying with family, they still need to eat and stay in communication with Curtis’s mother and brother on the west coast, as well as continue to update family in Ecuador. Also, even though they are not physically in their house, they still have mortgage, electric and phone bills to pay on their home.
I have known the Coates family personally for well over a decade and they are the kindest, most thoughtful people I know. Over the years, I have seen them open their home many times to family members making major transitions, open their pocketbook to help others in need, love each other unconditionally, and treat my children as their own. While they would be the first to help another family going through such a rough spiritual and financial time as they are currently enduring, they would never ask for such help. Luckily, I have no problem asking for help for them ;) Please consider donating what you can to help them keep their home, pay temporary living expenses in Miami while Curtis remains hospitalized, and begin to tackle the mounting medical bills. Prayers are also welcome.
Thank you and God Bless.
Organizer and beneficiary
Grace Jurado
Organizer
Kenmore, WA
Julia Coates
Beneficiary