Bay Area mom receives great support after aneurysm

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A Bay Area family is in crisis after a young mother suddenly collapsed from an aneurysm.

Heidi Crouch is a wife and mother of two children, ages 6 and 7. All was going well until July 4. That's when a blood vessel burst in her head without warning.

A lot of people are stepping-up to help the 33-year-old mom and her family.

Heidi's mom, Joan Firestone, said, "On the Fourth of July, our daughter collapsed at home and we discovered that she had an aneurysm burst."

Heidi was airlifted to Stanford Hospital where she had multiple surgeries. This is a tough time for her husband, who works with the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, and for her kids.

Heidi's best friend Krystle Warren said, "I was sitting in the waiting room on Friday and I just kept thinking, 'What can I do? I can't do anything.' And it dawned on me this is the only thing that I can do to try and raise money and help them cover some of the expenses that they're going to incur."

So she launched a GoFundMe page and was stunned the next morning.

Warren said, "By the time we woke up the next morning there was $22,000 in there."

Now in four days, it's soared up to over $74,000.

"It's so way beyond the financial. The biggest response we have had is 'I'm praying. We will be in prayer,'" Firestone said.

Messages have flowed in from the Bay Area, from Guam, from Brazil -- all rooting for the young mom to recover.

There are no more surgeries planned. For now, it's all about healing for Heidi.

"Before the kids go to bed, I ask them if they would like to record a message to Mommy on my phone, so that I can take it to the hospital the next day," Firestone said. "I take that in and play it for her."

"I knew I loved her, but now I just realize that the whole community loves her and now there's people across the world that love her and are following her story," Warren said.

If you would like to help, check out the GoFundMe site here.