Blessing After Blessing: The Craig Foundation Supports Patients in Need

In July 2023, 28-year-old Marleen Nolasco was enjoying a weekend church camp near Salida, Colorado, when she was involved in a serious ATV accident.

“That night, we received a call informing us that our oldest daughter had sustained a severe traumatic brain injury,” recalls Lorena Nolasco, Marleen’s mother. “She was being airlifted to a hospital five hours from our house in Pueblo, so we jumped in the car and raced to Grand Junction in the middle of the night.”

Marleen spent the next three months in two different hospitals before transferring to Craig Hospital for her brain injury neurorehabilitation, where she stayed for 13 months.

“Every encounter at Craig was a blessing,” Lorena says. “We were extremely scared and overwhelmed, but the team at Craig went out of their way to help us. They not only care for patients—but for family members as well. While we never thought about ourselves, Craig’s staff thought about us every day. Being at Craig for more than a year was a true blessing we will never ever forget.”

Supporting Patients and Families in Crisis 

Lorena, a teacher, and her husband, Amalio, a water treatment plant supervisor, drove back and forth between Denver and Pueblo every other weekday and spent the weekends in Denver. In addition, Lorena’s two sisters traveled from New Mexico to help.

“Our goal was to never leave Marleen alone—not even for one day,” Lorena says. “We wanted her to know that her family would always be by her side, supporting her every step of the way.”

Thanks to the Craig Foundation’s Patient Assistance Fund, the Nolasco family was able to achieve that goal.

Catastrophic spinal cord and brain injuries can be devastating—physically, emotionally and financially. Expenses associated with these injuries—often combined with temporary or permanent loss of income on the part of the patient and/or family members who become caregivers—can push families underwater financially.

But donor-supported Patient Assistance Funds provide a safety net for patients and families when their financial means, including insurance, are inadequate to meet the financial burdens associated with their catastrophic injury.

These funds help patients remodel homes for accessibility, train caregivers, make travel arrangements, receive needed medical or dental care, acquire adaptive equipment, afford air ambulances from Craig, and meet transitional financial emergencies. 

“When Marleen arrived at Craig, her family had so much to worry about, so we stepped in to help,” explains Karen Leonard, Marleen’s Clinical Care Manager. 

In addition to providing housing for Marleen’s family members to be by her side, Patient Assistance Funds covered meals at the hospital, as well as massages for Lorena and her sister.

“At first, I did not want to accept the massage because it felt way too generous, but I finally gave in,” she says. “I didn’t realize how tense and tired I was until that amazing massage!”

And the help didn’t stop there.

“The Craig Foundation also paid for Marleen’s transportation back home to Pueblo because our van was in the shop,” Lorena recalls. “And they paid for medical equipment not covered by insurance. This included an alternating pressure mattress to prevent pressure sores, a power pack for Marleen’s hospital bed and hoyer lift, and a bath chair.”

She adds, “The blessings from Craig kept coming. We were amazed by the support we received.”

Moving Forward

Marleen is now back at home, getting stronger every day. Recently, Lorena left her teaching job to be her daughter’s full-time caregiver, while other family members are pursuing training as nursing assistants.

“When we finally got Marleen home, we were so happy to have the new equipment and home modifications in place,” Lorena says. “We did not know we needed any of this stuff—but the team at Craig knew exactly what we needed. There are no words to describe our appreciation.”

To learn more about supporting programs at Craig Hospital, please visit craighospital.org/donate.