On Tuesday, March 20th, 2018, our mom, Lori Silgjord, suffered from an aortal dissection that required emergency surgery. After being airlifted to St. Mary's in Duluth, MN, Lori underwent an extensive 8+ hour surgery to repair her aorta (main artery from the heart). The surgery was successful, but Lori experienced complications including a secondary dissection that moved into her carotid artery. Due to the length and significance of the operation, Lori also suffered a stroke. Due to the extra complications, it was decided to transfer Lori to United Hospital in St. Paul, MN, which was accomplished by another life flight. Lori has been sedated since Thursday, March 22nd to allow for her body to heal from the extensive surgery, as well as the complications. Her road to recovery thus far has been rocky, to say the least, but she is putting up a fight. Lori's stay at United has brought a fair amount of ups and downs. CT Scans confirmed a stroke that Lori experienced, but the severity is still unknown at this time. She has also had some fluid build up around the heart that was addressed, but is still a serious cause for concern.
Lori has a long fight ahead of her, including fighting off infection, blood clots, and regaining her respiratory health. She has several weeks, if not months, that she will be in the ICU before she may be able to come out of her medically induced coma. Please pray for Lori as she fights for her life and hopefully moves into a recovery phase.
-Caleb, Brandon, and Justin Silgjord
If you would like to make a monetary donation to assist with lodging and travel costs to help keep family close, medical bills and future rehabilitation expenses look to the "Ways to Help" Button which will direct you to Lori's go fund me page link on the Right side. Also, if you would like to leave Lori a note or upload a photo please fell free to do so and we will read them to Lori as they come in. You can also copy and paste this link:
https://www.gofundme.com/ucnjpw-lori-silgjord
