MADISON, Wis. (WTVO) — COVID-19 restrictions are keeping a Rockford family from visiting their loved one in a Madison hospital. Instead, they have to pick up the phone and hope she can hear them on the other end.
We caught up with the family who tell us it’s been a heartbreaking week, to say the least.
The Stickles family is now left to picking up their devices to be able to see their sister, Sara, for just a few minutes. They say that all they wish they could do is to be able to hold Sara’s hand.
Sara has a condition called arteriovenous malformation. That’s when a group of blood vessels are abnormally interconnected with one another. Over a week ago, the AVM ruptured.
“Because of the AVM rupture, the aneurysm ruptured and she had a stroke in her brain stem at the same time,” explained Sara’s sister, Jamie Stickles.
She is now in a coma. Sara’s twin sister Kara says she wishes she could hold her hand, but she can’t due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s hard for nobody to be able to just touch her, feel her, feel our presence,” Kara said. “And this is how we have to see our sister now..that.”
The family is constantly scheduling Facetime calls so Sara can hear their voices.
“Whenever I want to facetime I have to call the nurses station. I have to ask for Sara’s floor, ask if we can Facetime. [If[ they say yes, then set up a time, and then they [tell] me ‘Okay 15 minutes is okay. That’s fine I’ll call you back with a number,'” Jamie said.
Sara comes from a family of 10 siblings. Her oldest sister Jamie says she just hopes that Sara can hear them.
“This, this is different. She maybe can hear my voice, I don’t know how loud they have it,” she said.
On top of that, the number she dials for visits with Sara changes every day.
“It’s like phone tag all day long, just to be able to see her,” Jamie added. “Just to be able to talk to her for 10 minutes.”
“None of this is fair.”
The family says they are not going to give up and Sara will keep fighting.
“She’s the Phoenix of our family. She came from the flames, and she rose up, she fought,” Kara said.
The family has started a GoFundMe for anyone who wishes to donate.
