The family of Jullie Stephenson is growing increasingly distraught as her condition worsens, three weeks after a Waikiki robbery left her in a coma.
Last week, the 52-year-old grandmother’s liver and kidneys began to fail and she had bleeding in her lungs, her older sister Pam Spadaro said. She’s had more than 40 transfusions.
"The blood transfusions are basically what’s keeping her alive right now," said Spadaro, 55, by phone from her home in Dallas. "The prognosis is not good. They’ve done everything medically to treat her. It’s really up to her body to heal."
Stephenson, a Kaiser High graduate, was returning home from work about 9:20 p.m. Feb. 2 when she was attacked in the driveway of her apartment building, the Tradewinds, at 1720 Ala Moana Blvd.
Family members said a male approaching from behind grabbed Stephenson’s purse, shoved her to the ground and fled to a vehicle. Stephenson broke her hip and banged her forehead on the ground. She was taken to Straub Clinic & Hospital, where doctors replaced her hip and put her in a coma after finding internal bleeding.
Last weekend, Stephenson woke up and was able to write short notes but didn’t know what happened and didn’t believe she was in a hospital, Spadaro said. Family members thought Stephenson was recovering, but on Tuesday doctors found bleeding in her lungs and she relapsed.
The bleeding has stopped, but her organs have not recovered. She remains on a ventilator and has a feeding tube.
Stephenson’s 78-year-old mother, who lives in Texas, was also hospitalized after the stress of her daughter’s situation triggered her asthma, Spadaro said.
Her daughter, Jennifer Feathers, arrived from Oklahoma earlier this month and is exhausted from the ordeal, Spadaro said.
"We’re still praying for a miracle, that things will turn the corner," she said.
Police said no one has been arrested in connection with Stephenson’s attack.
A fundraiser is set for 3 p.m. Sunday at Harbor Pub, which Stephenson visited regularly, in Waikiki. Donations for her medical bills also can be made to www.gofundme.com/6vfn00.