Abbey Conner: A Short Story

Abbey Conner, her brother Austin Conner, and their parents John and Ginny McGowan, took a trip to Iberostar Paraiso del Mar, Mexico. Abbey was twenty years old, and attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she had just completed her first semester of her junior year. Abbey planned to major in business, with a concentration in human resources. Austin was twenty-two years old and had one semester left to complete at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The same day they arrived at the resort, the family went to the pool and had a few drinks. A while after Abbey’s parents decided to head back to their room to get changed and ready for dinner with their kids. John and Ginny arrive at the restaurant first, with the mindset that their kids would be coming soon

John and Ginny had been rushed to a small hospital right outside the resort because Abbey and Austin were found face down unconscious in the pool. Upon their arrival to the hospital, Austin was stable but sedated, he had a large lump on his forehead, and a severe concussion but he would be alright. Whereas Abbey was on a ventilator, and in a coma, she was unresponsive to all stimulation, she also had a cracked collarbone. Essentially the doctors in Mexico told John and Ginny that their daughter was brain dead due to the brain injury, and lack of oxygen getting to the brain because of the inflammation. The McGowans then had their children transferred to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a second opinion. It was later confirmed by U.S. doctors that Abbey was indeed brain dead, and because she wanted to be an organ donor her family decided to take her off life support on January 12th. Since Abbey’s death her family has been searching for answers to what happened to her and her brother on two hours into their vacation. Abbey’s family is quite confused on how this could have happened because both Abbey and Austin have a history