Thoughts and prayers are requested from Patras, Greece as Giannoula Rigas, “Mama” to most, is currently in a hospital battling the affects of pneumonia.

Last July, Giannoula was hospitalized with pneumonia in the United States and was sent home with an oxygen tank. In September, Giannoula traveled to Greece to attend her nephew’s wedding because it afforded her the opportunity to celebrate with family she hardly sees anymore, said her daughter Konstantina Rigas who accompanied her. By late October, Giannoula was not feeling well and spent the next few weeks in and out of doctors’ offices.

“November 19th we were to travel back to the states, got to the airport, checked in, got to the gate and my mom nearly fainted resulting in the airline not allowing us to fly,” Konstantina said over Facebook Messenger. “She was then hospitalized, but no result came out of it.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 22, after months of more trips to doctors' offices, Giannoula’s oxygen levels were reading 35 percent, so Konstantina rushed her mother to the local clinic in their family’s town of Nafpaktos which immediately rushed her to a hospital in Patras, about 30 minutes away. With her mother around the clock, Konstantina returned to Nafpaktos on Friday at midnight to rest, but around 5 a.m. on Saturday, she received a call to come back to the hospital.

“When I got there I saw doctors all over my mom. One came out to tell me that she had flatlined but they were able to revive her. She is now in critical condition in an induced coma hooked up to machines, her lungs are shot and she cannot breathe on her own.”

Konstantina explained that because Greece’s Intensive Care Units are at capacity due to an influenza outbreak, Giannoula has not been able to get the care she needs. Though she is on a priority list to get her into a better equipped facility, to move Giannoula to a private hospital would cost around $1,500 a day.

“The medical system here is very different than the U.S. … Unfortunately my mom's insurance does not cover internationally and her Greek "basic insurance" wouldn’t cover her if we were able to find an open ICU in a private hospital.”

Mark Rigas, Giannoula’s husband and Konstantina’s father, is on his way to Greece. Mark has remained in Boothbay Harbor while trying to finish fixing up the family’s business, Boothbay House of Pizza, which sustained fire damage in October.

Friends of the family who wish to remain anonymous have created a GoFundMe page to help raise enough money to put Giannoula in a private hospital. However, the Friends have also said that for more instantaneous help to the Rigases in Greece, PayPal is another method people have been using to help.

Local resident Eve Jamieson posted steps to take to donate through Paypal on Facebook:

Login or set up a new PayPal account at https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/send-money-online; choose “send money”; enter Konstantina’s email address (k.rigas@outlook.com); enter the money amount and send.

Locals Linda Foster and Leah Timberlake also opened a savings account at First National Bank on Oak Street in Boothbay Harbor just weeks ago in order to help the Rigases with the costs of her breathing apparatuses. This offers an alternative to online donations because anyone can just walk into the First and ask to donate to the account.

“Messages are much appreciated, too,” said Konstantina. “The warmth and love from our community not only coming in from after the pizzeria fire, but with my mom now has been overwhelming and such a blessing. I literally want to give Boothbay, our friends and customers who are our family a huge hug. If anyone knows me they know I'm a hugger!”

The GoFundMe page can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/help-for-giannoula-rigas