Georgia senior Liza Burke suffers brain hemorrhage on spring break in Mexico, $120,000 raised to bring her home

Georgia senior Liza Burke suffers brain hemorrhage on spring break in Mexico, $120,000 raised to bring her home

A fundraiser has raised more than $120,000 in less than 24 hours after a University of Georgia student suffered a medical emergency on spring break in Mexico.

A GoFundMe page has been set up senior Liza Burke, who was in Cabo San Lucas with friends when she had a headache early Friday. After going for a nap, her friends couldn’t wake her.

Burke, a business major, was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which caused her brain to hemorrhage, according to the fundraiser’s organizer, Jennifer Ritter. The hemorrhage left Burke unresponsive and she is now “on life support,” Ritter said.

The money raised will help pay for her life-flight transport from Mexico to Jacksonville, Florida, Ritter said. Liza Burke’s family is scheduled to fly her back to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida for an operation. The fundraiser’s original goal was $40,000.

“Her family and doctors are working hard to give her the best medical treatment possible,” Ritter said. “They have agreed that she needs to return to the U.S. immediately to receive expert care from experienced doctors.”

“She has so much left to give to the world. Please continue to pray for her full recovery,” Ritter said.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.