Sasha’s Story

Site created on November 1, 2019

Welcome to Sasha Walley's CaringBridge website. Sasha's story was updated on December 1st to contain more accurate details. Please reread if you last read it before December 1st

On Sunday, October 20th, Sasha was brought to the emergency room of Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis by her dad, John Walley. Sasha was initially diagnosed with pneumonia which was soon changed to an unusually severe case of Necrotizing Pancreatitis. Sasha is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Abbott Northwestern.

From October 20th until mid-November Sasha has been heavily sedated to help her recovery. At around 12am on Thursday, October 31st, Sasha had emergency surgery to relieve the pressure the pancreatitis was putting on the rest of her vital organs. The surgery was a success in that it is helping relieve the pressure, but for now, the biggest concern is infection. Due to the open abdomen, visitation has been limited. If someone has the slightest cold/virus it could have a dramatic affect on her. Also, outside germs and bacteria do bring a higher risk of infection.  Please be sure to use the sanitation foam at the entrance to her room before entering.

Sasha has been in a medically induced "paralyzed State" so that her abdominal muscles do not contract and to give her body/organs a rest. Doctors continue to say that Sasha is very critically ill and it may take weeks in the ICU to fully stabilize her condition for recovery. Her open abdominal cavity continues to be a risk for infections as the swelling still makes it impossible to close this up.

Sasha’s nutrition has been switched from a tube down her nose/throat cavity, to a tube directly into her intestines. Sasha now has a  tracheostomy in her neck to replace a tube by which she received oxygen directly into her lungs to bypass the restrictions caused by the size of her pancreas. This way there will be no damage to her vocal cords and will allow her more comfort. She will not be vocal for 2-4 more weeks.

At this time, recovery is looking like this:

Sasha has been in the ICU at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, for the last eight weeks. When stable she will go on to rehab at Bethesda or Regency Hospital for another 2-3 months. This time frame is a best case scenario. She could potentially be in ICU longer, depending on when her vital signs stabilize. She may need another 2-3 months for further rehabilitation.

That all being said, we would like to use this page to update Sasha's friends and family. If you would like to add your best wishes, experiences visiting Sasha and your questions, comments and photos to the spaces provided on Sasha’s CaringBridge website please Register on this site.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: ANY DONATIONS MEANT FOR SASHA  MUST BE DEPOSITED ONLY IN HER 'GoFundMe' ACCOUNT. ANY DONATIONS TO CaringBridge' ONLY  FUND THE OPERATIONS OF THE CARINGBRIDGE ORGANIZATION.

Sasha has a GoFundMe page connected here, on the 'Ways to Help' tab.
Or you can click the GoFundMe Link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sasha-support-squad

HELP SASHA LIVE  -  GIVE HER HOPE FOR A HAPPY FUTURE!

If you'd like to visit Sasha at Abbott Northwestern we ask that you sign up on the Planner in the ‘Ways to Help’ tab when it becomes available.

We will use CaringBridge to communicate Sasha’s visitation status. As of now, 2 visitors are allowed in Sasha’s room at a time, and Sasha has requested that only one person speak with her at a time, so she is not exhausted by the visit. Medical staff would like to keep the visits in her room to15-20mins or less. There are family lounges off the halls where people can gather and talk if they need to wait for visitors to leave her room so they can go in, or until medical staff have completed procedures.

Check back here for updates on Sasha as her family, co-workers and friends will be using this site as the main communication method.

A little note about the photos we used on this site. They were taken of Sasha at Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The seascape is the Caribbean sunrise from a patio where Sasha loves to sit. I just thought that was sweet, so we wanted to include it.




Newest Update

August 4, 2020

Journal entry by John Walley —

Dear Friends and Family,
 
Here is news about Sasha.

It is with great joy in my heart I can report that Sasha has been home
with Edie and me now for two months after 7.5 months in hospitals and
nursing homes. What a wonderful experience, to have her here with us. 
I have detailed Sasha’s travails and journey during her illness and 
recovery in my Journal Updates on caringbridge.org. It is time to write 
a new Update. Here is some of what is new for Sasha since June 5th.

Sasha's attitude is joyous and hopeful for her continued recovery. She
is happy to be free of the restraints and interruptions of continuous
medical care, which includes attending to her open abdominal wound 
required to save her life last October. This wound needed to be closed with 
a skin graft, which was finally performed on May 29th after the Minnesota
ban on non-essential surgery because of COVID-19 was lifted by our
Governor (details are available in my Journal Updates).

Once home Sasha was initially just able to climb our stairs as she had
not been able to practice using stairs or walking any distances in her
medical residences. As in most congregate care settings she needed 
to avoid persons and surfaces potentially infected with the  COVID-19
 virus. As a result, her muscle systems weakened during her protective 
quarantine. Her last residence, North Ridge Health and Rehab, had 101
residents infected with this virus at the same time during her stay.

Over the past month Sasha has gained strength. Nonetheless, she tires 
very easily and had at the beginning difficulty getting up from a chair, 
reaching up or bending down. These activities still result in a great deal 
of pain even as her abilities have improved.

Sasha is now scheduling outdoor visits with her friends.

There is one large medical hurdle yet to be overcome and that is the
need for major abdominal restructuring to address Sasha's present
weakness. This surgery is considered medically necessary to restore
her to an adequate level of physical functioning. Sasha will have a CT Scan
on August 5th to determine the scope of her surgery, and then her
operation will be scheduled. 
 
Sasha’s continuing recovery is our primary concern.

Warmest regards,

John (Sasha and Edie)
Read More of the journal titled "August 4, 2020"
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