This mother of 6 went in for surgery 2 years ago and has been in a coma ever since. Now Secret Santa has a surprise for her family. - East Idaho News
Secret Santa

This mother of 6 went in for surgery 2 years ago and has been in a coma ever since. Now Secret Santa has a surprise for her family.

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A Secret Santa has asked EastIdahoNews.com to help him give away $200,000 to deserving people and families living in east Idaho. From now until Christmas, Santa’s “elves” will be delivering surprises to many in our community. Some of the deliveries will be recorded – many will not. If you’d like to nominate someone for a Secret Santa surprise, click here.

On August 30, 2015, Lauriann Bartell went to the hospital with a bleeding ulcer. The doctors cauterized it but due to its proximity to an artery, she lost a lot of blood.

They rushed the mother of six children to emergency surgery to stop the bleeding but during that time, she lost oxygen to her brain. This caused an unknown amount of brain damage and left her in a coma.

bartell family
The Bartell family. | Courtesy photo

Lauriann’s faithful husband, Mike, has rarely left her side over the past two years. They brought Lauriann home in October 2015 and Mike has been caring for her ever since.

The kids work and hold fundraisers to pay for their extracurricular activities and the Bartells remain hopeful that one day Lauriann will awake from her coma.

father cries
Mike Bartell is overcome with emotion when he receives a gift from a Secret Santa. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
wife and husband
Mike and Lauriann Bartell. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

When Secret Santa learned about Lauriann, he sent the EastIdahoNews.com elves over with a special gift.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the Bartell family. Click here to visit the page.

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