Michelle Money is sharing an update on her 15-year-old daughter Brielle, who was hospitalized after a “terrible” skateboarding accident that landed the teenager on life support and in a medically-induced coma.
The former Bachelor contestant shared that Brielle was going into surgery on Monday afternoon in an effort to reduce the fluid creating pressure on her brain.
Making the “heart-wrenching” situation even more difficult was the fact that only one parent is allowed to be with Brielle at a time because of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions.
“First off, I’m alone, because we can only have one parent here at a time because of the virus,” Money said in a video update on Instagram. Money added in the caption that Brielle’s dad, her ex Ryan Money, “has been sitting in his car in the parking lot not knowing what else to do.”
“It’s really hard to be alone during something like this, but your prayers and your messages mean so much to us. So thank you,” she addressed her followers in the video, explaining that Brielle had just gone into surgery.
“I forget the technical name of it but they’re basically trying to remove fluid from her brain because her brain just has so much swelling and they need to keep the pressure down. So they’re going to be removing some of her brain fluid,” the mother said.
“So that surgery will take about an hour, and then yeah, hopefully, her numbers will get a little lower with the target rate that we’re trying to get to just really reduce the swelling that’s going to happen and cause pressure in her brain.”
Money thanked her followers again for the prayers and messages, sharing that the situation is her “worst nightmare.”
“No mother should ever have to go through this and I just have so much more compassion for those of you who have had to go through something like this. It is just heart-wrenching,” she said. “I’m still just praying for her to pull through this, to get the swelling down so that we can then go and see what damage has really been done and what we need to do.”
“But she is fighting,” Money said of her daughter before going on to applaud the health care workers at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. “The doctors have been incredible, the nurses, everyone. I have been an absolute mess and have not slept and so I’m forcing myself to sleep while she gets this procedure done. So, I love you guys, thank you, all of you, for all the messages, and I’ll keep you posted.”
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Earlier on Monday, Money shared on Instagram that Brielle “suffered a serious brain trauma and a fractured skull” and that the teenager had not been wearing a helmet at the time of the skateboarding accident.
“ALWAYS MAKE THEM WEAR THE HELMET. ALWAYS. EVEN WHEN THEY PUSH BACK,” Money wrote in the caption accompanying a photo of her daughter in the hospital.
“Thank you to the neighbors who happened to be on a walk and found her and called 911. You will never understand. I would not have found her in time. My heart is forever grateful,” she added. “Thank you to all of you who have sent prayers and messages and love. Brielle has been through so much already this year. She has proven how strong she is. I know she will pull through. #PrayForBrie”
Hospitals across the country have implemented strict visitation rules amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to keep patients and health care workers safe. As of Monday, there have been at least 160,718 confirmed cases in the United States, with more than 3,000 deaths.
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.
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