This holiday season, North Bergen officials have chipped in to support a family that was struck by tragedy over the summer.
Mayor Nicholas Sacco, NB C.A.R.E.S. Coordinator Aimee Focaraccio, and other township officials welcomed Eduardo Argueta to town hall on Dec. 23 to give him presents for his newborn daughter Emma.
Officials also presented Argueta with $500 donations from the Nicholas J. Sacco Foundation and from the North Bergen Police Department, and a $1,000 donation from a Secret Santa.
The donations are to help the family get through this difficult time, and bring them some much needed holiday cheer. NB C.A.R.E.S. provided dozens of toys for Emma and her mother’s young brother and sister.
“Estefania Mesa and her family have been facing a tragic situation since she fell into a coma earlier this year after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl,” Sacco said. “Today, we were able to present Estafania’s partner Eduardo Argueta with donations from the Nicholas J. Sacco Foundation, the NB C.A.R.E.S. program, our local police unions, and a local business. We hope these donations will help the family get through this difficult time while Estefania recovers and bring them some much deserved holiday cheer.”
A sad summer day
Argueta is the partner of Estefania Mesa, who gave birth to Emma via C-section in July and lapsed into a coma from lack of oxygen.
On July 19, Mesa went to the hospital because she had started feeling contractions. She had an emergency C-section the next day and for reasons unclear went into cardiac arrest.
The lack of oxygen to her brain has now placed her in a coma. Doctors believe she may have brain damage. Mesa does not have health insurance, and the hospital bills will be astronomical.
“Our goal is to raise enough funds to transfer her to a hospital that has the best neurologists and team to help Estefania and give her a fighting chance,” Jennifer Romero and Daniela Solano wrote on the GoFundMe page they organized to support Mesa and her family.
“We do not know exactly what caused this, but right now our main concern is helping Estefania recuperate so she has the possibility to raise her beautiful baby girl Emma next to her partner Eddie and her family,” they said.
Mesa is currently recovering in a rehab facility.
“After almost four months, Estefania was finally transferred to a rehabilitation center late last night and out of Hoboken University Medical Center, where this nightmare began,” Romero and Solano said. “The combined efforts of so many who have helped in countless ways, prayers, and donations have been of paramount importance to achieve this goal.”
They continued: “Thank you to every single person who has shared Estefania’s story thus far, donated, and helped us raise awareness for what happened to her. The road to recovery is long; however, we remain hopeful that she will receive the extensive rehab that she needs in order to some day soon be able to care for her beautiful baby girl, Emma.”
Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-estefania.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
