‘I’m scared. I’m worried. I’m overwhelmed.’ How COVID-19 upended a Wausau teen’s life – Wausau Daily Herald

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect expert guidance on COVID-19 vaccines and people with autoimmune disorders.

WAUSAU Shegot the call from doctors at Marshfield Clinic Wausau Centerat about 1 a.m. Nov. 4.

Adriana Jasso's mother, Suzanne Holubiw, 43, had been treated there for COVID-19 since Oct. 13, Adriana said, and Suzannehad taken a turn for the worse. The medical providers wanted Adriana to come to the facility; they felt it would be best to have her mother taken by helicopterto Marshfield Medical Center, where she could receive a higher level of care with more sophisticated equipment.

With her minda whirl of thoughts,Adriana rushed to the hospital.

"I was sad, I was upset, I was confused," she said. "Allthe doctors and nurseswere like, Oh, its OK, its going to be OK. Shes going to get more help,' but I washysterically crying, because I was like, 'Oh my god. This is crazy. This isnt happening. Im making these decisions and Im hoping these are the right decisions.'

Adriana agreed with doctors. COVID-19 ravaged Suzanne's lungsand her oxygen levels had plummeted. At Marshfield, doctors put Suzanne on anECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine, a device that supports a person's heart and lungs, allowing their bodies to fight COVID-19.

The day after Suzanne was taken to Marshfield, Adriana learned her grandmother, Suzanne's mother, Lorraine Holubiw, also was sick with COVID-19. She had been sick for a couple of days, but didn't tell Adriana or other relatives because she didn't want to worry them. When her illness suddenly got worse and she couldn't breathe, Lorraine went to Aspirus Wausau Hospital by ambulance.

Lorraine wanted to go to Marshfield Medical Center to be in the same building as Suzanne, Adriana said, but there wasn't time. The day after, Lorraine'sorgans began to fail, and Adriana again got a phone call, and again rushed to the hospital. When she got there, other family members, Adriana's uncles and aunts, and she decided that Lorraine would not want to be put on a life support system.

Lorrainedied on Nov. 6. Adriana was holding her hand.

In a matter of days, the 18-year-old Adriana went from being a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a pre-dentistry major aiming for the dean's list, to being a young woman whose life was completely shattered by COVID-19.

The disease had disrupted her life before; school shut down in her senior year at Wausau East High School and she graduated studying online. She was in college when she got COVID-19 the last week of September, and she knew it was serious because it took weeks for her to recover.

But this was a whole different level of crisis. Adriana was raised by her mother and grandmother, and losing her grandmother and knowing her mom was in the fight for her life, understanding that she could not turn to them for guidance, made her feel unmoored and alone.

"Im scared, Im worried. Im overwhelmed. Im everything all at once," Adriana said.

Adriana wasn't alone. She has two younger siblings, 16-year-old twins Juliana and Isaac, and they are allclose. But she couldn't unburden on them, she felt, because she needed to be strong as she took over guardianship of the younger teens, who are sophomores at Wausau East High School.

She would lay awake at night, worrying about a myriad of things: Who was going to drive the twins to sports practices and classes? Who was going to take care of their pets? Who was going to cook, shop and clean house?

Tears came when she was alone. But she also turned to her oldest and dearest friend, Cooper Lindman. The two had known each other since they were both in eighth grade, new to Wausau, and Cooper tripped over Adriana's backpack when he was getting on the bus.

The bus was crowded, and he asked if he could sit with her.

"We were both new and scared and we just were friends from then on," Adriana said.

When Adriana got overwhelmed, she would call Cooper.

"I'd be crying," Adriana said. "I'd be saying, 'I don't want to do this. This is all too much.'"

Cooper knew more about what Adriana was going through than anybody. Not only had they been close friends for six years, he is a certified nursing assistant with Aspirus, and is studying nursing at UW-Stevens Point.

Cooper told his mother, Nicky Lindman, what was going on with Adriana. Nicky immediately went into full-on mom mode and began helping out Adriana, whether Adriana wanted it or not.

"I think it is a hard place to be, a place in need. Last year she was just in high school. And she was part of these organizations that gathered food for people in need," Nicky said. "She did all this stuff for the community and all of a sudden (she's) thrown into this crisis situation. And (she) did not have (her) two major resources, Mom and Grandma, to go to."

Nicky put together a GoFundMe fundraiser called "Help the Jasso Kids!"But Adriana was hesitant about putting her story out there, or to accept money or help from strangers. But a couple of weeks after her grandmother died, Adriana relented.

When she first launched the GoFundMe, Nicky set a goal of $5,000, and then started posting about the Jassos and the fundraiser on Facebook. The appeal struck a chord, and donations started pouring in. It didn't take long for the effort to exceed that $5,000 goal.

Now"Help the Jasso Kids!" has raised $14,360 from 188 donations. Nicky has upped the goal to $20,000, with the money raised to be used for living expenses while Suzanne is in the hospital and recovering.

Suzanne is doing well, Adriana said. She has been taking off the ECMO machine, but still uses a ventilator to help her breathe. Adriana and doctors are preparing for Suzanne to be moved to a long-term recovery care facility. Adriana hopes she can get that long-term recovery care at North Central Health Care campusin Wausau.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 case rate is ranked "high" in Marathon County, according to the Marathon County Health Department. The department tracked 133 new daily cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The county had a total of 23,549 confirmed cases, and 284 confirmed deaths.

Nicky has also enlisted other moms and friends to help advocate for the Jassos, including educators and people with medical expertise. Nicky tries to accompany Adriana to meetings with health care providers and teachers and others, so Adriana isn't on her own.

Adriana is "very capable," Nicky said. "All of us are amazed. But none of us can do all of this on our own."

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Adriana has temporarily put her college studies on hold, after consulting with advisers at UW-Stevens Point. Going to school and helping her siblings and making sure her mother gets the care she needs and studying got to be too much.

But she plans to continue again next semester. She, Juliana and Isaac all work at Tri-City Restaurant in Schofield. Adriana thought it was important to not only keep earning money, but to keep as regular schedules as possible.

Adriana also understands her younger siblings need to feel the sadness and grief, and they want to help.

"I was trying to take the burden away from them, but that's not what they want me to do," she said.

Instead, they work together, she said, to deal with all the emotions they are feeling.

They had been through this before, Adriana said, when she was10 years old her mother was hospitalized with a perforated bowel. Her mother also suffers from autoimmune disorders, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. (Because of the immune illnesses, Suzanne, with advice of doctors, Adriana said, did not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Lorraine also had underlying illnesses, including Crohn's disease, and she too, consulted her primary care doctor, did not get the vaccine, Adriana said.)

The Centers for Disease Control has determined that people with underlying medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart conditions and weakened immune systems are more prone to having more severe cases of COVID-19. In general, the agency has found vaccinations to be safe for these people. The Lupus Foundation of American recommends that people suffering from that disease consult their doctors to decide to take the vaccine, and if so, which one. The foundation also finds "that there is no evidence that people with lupus should not receive the vaccine."

The Jassoshad their grandmother watching over them eight years ago when Suzanne was ill, Adriana said, "and it was always, we're going to be OK."

The Jassos don't have that reassurance now, but Adriana said they will be strong.

She said she does it for her mom.

"My mom really built me to be who I am, to be strong, to do my best in situations like this. And I don't have her here to guide me. I don't have my grandma to guide me," she said.

Adriana knows, though, she has Juliana and Isaac, and "we have become stronger and closer together."

She also has Cooper and Nicky, and a whole lot of other people to help her. She's not stubbornly not asking for help now, she's grateful for it.

"I just didn't realize how long this was going to be. I didn't how everything was going to happen so quickly, but last for so long," she said. "And I still don't know how long it's going to be."

Nicky Lindman started a GoFundMe.com fundraiser to raise money for the Jasso teenagers and their mother Suzanne Holibiw. People can learn more about the effort and donate by visitinghttps://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-jasso-kids.

Contact Keith Uhlig at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on Twitter and Instagram or on Facebook.

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'I'm scared. I'm worried. I'm overwhelmed.' How COVID-19 upended a Wausau teen's life - Wausau Daily Herald